Ola vs Uber…. Find The Ride You Want

Your ride is here! Is one of the very few rejuvenating motivations on a mundane Monday. Well, “You have saved Rs 12.5 with this coupon” would second this in this ridesharing industry. Welcome to the world of rides wherein you can have rides at your services within a few clicks on your mobile screen.

But the real question to be answered is Ola or Uber?

So right off the bat, we see Uber winning over Ola in recent findings

To assess the competence of competitors in this ride hailing platform parameters such as reach, fleet size, order values and frequency are considered. When considering the reach, we see Ola being omnipresent in both cities and towns but uber has been strategically developing its presence in metropolitan cities wherein people are more likely to use the services which increases their customer value. Coming to the fleet size and the order values both of the competitors have their fair share of ups and downs putting them at par. Uber beats ola by a long shot when it comes to the parameter of frequency of rides per passenger.

Ola has been the oldest player in this industry with a prominent market share. But Uber caught up pretty quick with its quirky strategies and perseverant services. Uber is a multinational giant, with operations in 71 countries. Uber has over 100 million monthly active users spread across more than 80 countries worldwide. All of which Uber has achieved in a commendable period of time.

When ola has been persistent about the market share, uber focused on the market presence which added to its brand equity. Another aspect defining brand equity in this ride sharing industry is ride cancellation which either of the equivalents have been trying to combat but Uber’s efforts seemed to be more fruitful than ola in recent times. Following ride cancellations is the concern of passengers’ safety which has been a gruesome issue for either of the competitors. Both Ola and Uber have been hit with a slew of assault allegations and driver misconduct complains. Customers scored, on a scale of 1-10, Uber at a stellar 9, while Ola had to settle for a 3.6, showcasing a huge disparity between the two cab aggregators in terms of safety. In terms of marketing, and recommending the service to friends and family, Uber stood out head and shoulders above its homegrown competitor.

Speaking of Marketing, we see both Ola and Uber with aggressive marketing strategies. The hilarious push notifications from these notifications have been the talk of the town these days. Uber has also invested its resources in the intensive interview and training process of its drivers to ensure the utmost quality and safety of their passengers. There is persistent feedback of uber drivers being more courteous and technically sound than the ones from other equivalents. This has been a major boost to their brand equity.

Simple yet effective improvements by uber have been a great deal for Uber. Uber is user friendly and scores in operational efficiency. The map services in uber have been precise and relevant in comparison with its equivalents. The fare system of Uber is quite simple and doesn't include the ride time or any additional charges. The driver starts the ride when you sit in the car and journey begins and not when he comes to your pickup point which is the case with Ola.

Talking in terms of future aspect we see uber having its resources saved up accounting for a safer valuation. Not only this but also Uber having its prices closer to the market fares will help in its future stability. Uber actively promotes entrepreneurship among the drivers, with skill development MoU signed with state governments in Haryana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Punjab, etc enabling its bright future in India.

Uber has been prominent at analyzing the problems in transportation and helping in moving people to destinations daily. The response team has been active and prompt in solving the passengers’ customers to satisfaction.

In a nut shell, we see uber being the new generation ride sharing competitor who has been quick on the feet and has overcome the pre-existing industry giant. This proves its point in claiming to be consistent in its efforts to become the better ride sharing option.

--- T Kavya Amrutha