12.3.15

Ola goes cashless


Private transport provider Ola on Wednesday got the jump on its rivals and the government by introducing cashless payment for auto rides in six cities across the country , including Chennai.
The Bangalore-based company has done what the government has been struggling to do for the past 15 years -get auto drivers to ply by the meter by offering them incentives -and proven that technology can be used to streamline the sector. Ola's cashless payment now covers autos as well as the yellow and black taxis (kaali-peelis) in other cities.Commuters can use the company's in-app Ola money to make payments for auto rides in Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Delhi and Bengaluru.
The company currently has close to 10,000 autos across the country.
To pay through the app, the driver enters the fare in the app and the customer receives an OTP or one-time password by SMS. Ola money is then deducted from the customer's account.
An auto driver travels an average of 100 km a day . Studies have shown that 35 km of the 100 km is dead mileage, when the driver is looking for customers. Ola executives say the company has reduced dead mileage by allocating drivers to commuters who are within a range of 1.2 km from them.

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