Online cab aggregator Ola claims that it is going app only from next month across its 100 cities of operation. For the uninitiated, Ola also let users book cabs by calling 3355-3355 before this move. The company states that this number will now be used for call centre operations (customer support). Interestingly, on calling the customer support number, I was informed that Ola does not take bookings through phone anymore. The executive also told me that they’d stopped phone bookings about 2 months ago. After the call, I got an SMS from Ola asking me to download the app to get a ride. The company has also updated the app to better support content loading on 2G networks, it said in a statement. The app will reportedly allow users to save on their data usage and work even in areas of poor connectivity. Ola claims that 99% of its bookings (over 95% in smaller cities) come through the app, as compared to 20% at the time of launch in 2011. Ola also claims that over 90% of its users use the ‘Ride Now’ option from its app, as opposed to the ‘Ride Later’ option when one can schedule cab pick ups for later. TFS hatchback integration: Late last month, Ola started integrating TaxiForSure’s (TFS) hatchback cars into Ola’s own booking app. The integration was visible only to Delhi and Mumbai users for starters and was to be rolled out to other cities in phases over the next few weeks. Note that…
