Malavika Velayanikal · · 1 min readBike war in Bangalore: Ola launches two-wheelers just as UberMoto vrooms in
Photo credit: Rare Wallpapers
The taxi war in India is becoming more like a comic strip from Spy vs Spy each day. As soon as Uber announces a new move, you’re certain to find a countermove from Ola in your inbox. And vice versa.
The day began in Bangalore with Uber’s announcement of its bike taxi UberMoto which it had introduced in Bangkok last week to compete against GrabBike there and possibly Go-Jek in Indonesia soon.
Within an hour, Ola sent out a press release announcing the launch of its Bike Taxis in Bangalore – the first city in India where both Uber and Ola are launching the two-wheeler service.
And, to go one up on Uber, Ola has priced its service at three cents a kilometer compared to four cents per kilometer for UberMoto. The minimum fare is 45 cents.
Both UberMoto and Ola’s bike taxis are pilot initiatives. There’s no word on how many bikes they’re rolling out. But my colleague Meghna Rao managed to book an UberMoto after a few attempts, and zipped through Bangalore’s crowded streets to office today.
Editing by Terence Lee and Paloma Ganguly
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