Ola Wants To Conquer UK’s Taxi Market; Announces Their First European Expansion!

India born on-demand taxi app Ola has made their intentions very clear: They want to dominate global taxi market, and they are restless.

After foraying into Australia, Ola has now announced their plans to venture into the United Kingdom, which will make this as their first European expansion.

But, will they be able to sail through smoothly?

Read on to find out the problem with on-demand taxi apps in the UK!

Ola: We Are Expanding Into UK

Ola has officially announced their entry into the UK, with their on-demand taxi hailing app.

They will start their operations with South Wales in the UK.

Bhavish Aggarwal, chief executive of Olam said,  “Ola is excited to announce its plans for the UK, one of the world’s most evolved transportation markets. The UK is a fantastic place to do business and we look forward to providing a responsible, compelling, new service.”

As per Ola, they will be the only taxi app in the UK to provide a comprehensive suite of services, which includes booking private hire vehicles (PHVs) and black cabs from a single platform.

No other app provides this facility as of now.

In the month of February, Ola expanded into Australia, which was their first international expansion. They started their operations from Perth, where they provided free rides to attract customers.

As of now, Ola has entered into 7 cities, and has enrolled 40,000 drivers in the country.

But, will they be able to replicate their success in the UK.

Troubles With Uber In The UK

Uber, which was the first on-demand taxi hailing app to operate in the UK, is facing intense opposition from local drivers, who have been doing their taxi business since ages.

Few hours back, we came to know that Uber has been slapped with a £500,000 million lawsuit, filed by taxi drivers in London.

The class action lawsuit has been filed by The Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association (LTDA) and 11 other associations of drivers.

As per the lawsuit, ever since Uber started their operations in the UK in 2012, drivers have reported a massive loss in income – £50,000 is the average yearly income of a taxi driver in London, but after Uber came in, they have lost on an average £10,000 per year.

As per the lawsuit, Uber “has operated unlawfully between 2012-2017″.

Last year, Uber was stipped of its license to operate by  Transport for London (TfL) , but last month, they have been granted a temporary license.

Under these dicey circumstances, it would be interesting to know how Ola plans to survive, and thrive in the UK.

We will keep you updated.