Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Shafi Musaddique

Indian ride-hailing firm Ola expands into Australia

Indian ride-hailing firm Ola is launching in Australia in its first overseas expansion.

Ola  will offer services across Sydney, Melbourne and Perth starting on Tuesday and will compete with rival firm Taxify in Australia.

Taxify , an Eastern European startup, launched its Sydney services in December and expanded into Melbourne in January.  

Ola co-founder and chief executive Bhavish Aggarwal said he was “very excited” and could see “immense potential” in embracing innovation.

Founded in 2011, the startup offers bikes, rickshaws and electric cars as ride-hailing options.

Ola  operates in 110 cities across India. Uber, by comparison, operates in 29 cities in the country .

Unlike its US rival, Ola allows riders the choice of streaming music and videos in its vehicles.

The firm says it also offers free wifi inside its vehicles, even in poorly connected areas of India.

Ola  has rapidly expanded after it raised $1.1bn (£778m) in a funding round led by China’s internet giant Tencent and Japan’s Softbank in October.

Google made its first ride-hailing investment in Asia on Monday, pumping money into Indonesian startup Go-Jek.

According to Reuters, sources close to Google said the tech giant was investing about $100m.

Rivals Grab and Uber are also expanding into Southeast Asia, home to the world’s third-biggest ride hailing market after China and the US. 

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.