If you are thinking that clearing UPSC exam or getting a seat in an A grade college is the most difficult thing, then you probably mayn’t have booked Ola auto. Before I write this post here’s a small disclaimer, “ This post isn’t aimed at hurting anyone’s feeling and is just a post describing the problems I’ve faced. The problems that have occurred with me mayn’t have occurred with everyone and therefore any remarks made in this post shouldn’t be taken too seriously.”

Okay, now let’s move to the actual story. I am a frequent Ola user and I’ve liked Ola rides most of the time but off late I am facing a lot of issues with Ola rides. First of all the biggest issue is booking.

As you can see in the above attached screenshot, at 7:33 PM there are a lot of autoes inside the green circle.

But at 7:34 PM the app showed no auto available. This isn’t the first time it has happened to me, such instances have occurred many times and is a recurring issue. The same applies with Ola cabs too.

The second issue that I faced was extreme difference in estimated amount and the amount to be paid. The amount to be paid had grown six fold to that of the estimated amount in one of my rides. I think Ola should take some measure to resolve this. For example, develop a code that automatically reports when the above mentioned issue occurs (change in amount by extreme margin). Presently ‘wrongly charged’ can be reported in Ola’s complaint section but many people mayn’t do this (especially old people and less tech savvy people).

Now the question is why do people use Ola in spite of such issues ?

I don’t know about others but let me tell you, why I use Ola. I find it easier to travel in Ola because I do not have to bargain when I travel in Ola. My negotiation skills are very low and I seriously do not know as to, how to come to a deal when the auto driver says, “vonnendhalf ” or “metre mel ivattu”. Not just this, at times I find it harder to question “metre haakalwa ? ” when I’m told an expensive pre-determined fare. So I simply prefer booking an Ola.

Now you might be wondering as to, how is all this related to the title of this post ?

It is related because if Ola doesn’t rectify the common issues faced my most Ola users, there is a possibility that a rival company might emerge in the market and rectify the commonly faced issues and in turn take over the market share and put Ola out of business.