Budget Ola rides in six more cities to keep its market leadership position against rival Uber

BENGALURU: Ride-hailing app Ola has launched its low-cost cab category in six smaller towns and cities, as it looks to keep its market leadership position against rival Uber.
The company has launched is Ola Micro category in Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore and Guwahati, at Rs 6 per km with base fares at Rs 20. The service is now available in 18 cities. The fleet for the Micro category comprises of Datsun Go, Maruti Alto and Hyundai Eon. Earlier, the company was partly using the same fleet to service its Ola Mini category, according to drivers that ETspoke to.

Rival Uber too at times upgrades its UberGo customers to UberX cars, when the demand is higher for the GO category.

Ola said its Micro category alone, in its first three weeks since launch, crossed the daily bookings that Ola as a platform did in three years.

As the fight for market leadership intensifies, both Ola and Uber are burning significant cash to acquire driver supply as well as consumer wallet spend. The companies are offering drivers bonuses on rides and consumers discounted fare in a bid to gain market share.

Last week, Uber launched its auto service in Bhubaneswar and Coimbatore.