Does the world need another ride hailing app!? Ola, one of the many rivals of Uber, recently got a license to operate in London and are looking to take over from Uber as London no. 1 ride sharing service.
My quick summary of OIa before using it? I expect to see an app which looks and feels very similar to Uber.
How does Ola explain itself in the first minute? When searching for Ola’s app, in the iOS app store, if find an entry which says “Ola — Ride the change. Smart, safe rude hailing.” Wondering whether this strap-line refers to the safety issues that Uber has been plagued with in London and elsewhere, and whether Ola will use this as a main point of differentiation.
Once I’ve installed the Ola app on my phone, the opening screen doesn’t explain about what Ola is, but instead encourages me to join Ola in return for a £15 voucher.
Getting started with Ola? Getting started with Ola is painless and feels very similar to on-boarding many other apps. Call me a simpleton, but I do like the little animation at the end, which celebrates my completing Ola’s signup process and receiving a £5 voucher in the process. Hold on though, didn’t the opening screen of the app mention being able to receive vouchers up to £15!? What else do I need to do in order to get an additional £10 worth of vouchers?
Did Ola deliver on my initial expectations? Yes, from a digital experience point of view. Helped in a large part because the entire online on-boarding and ride-hailing feels so similar to that of Uber. I guess Ola isn’t necessarily trying to differentiate though its online experience but instead aiming to let the actual offline experience of using an Ola do the talking …
