Ola launches loyalty programme, reintroduces share cabs to boost cabs business

Ola Cabs has launched a loyalty programme called Ola Coin, besides reintroducing the ride-sharing service (share cabs) on its platform, as the company looks to reinvigorate its cabs business amid rising competition.

With a wider focus on commerce and other consumer services. Ola Cabs, which stands at #3 in the ride-hailing market, behind Uber and Rapido, has been rebranded as Ola Consumer

These announcements were made at Sankalp, Ola's flagship event in Bengaluru.

Ola Coin will reward end-users for every transaction they make on the Ola platform across mobility, ecommerce and logistics services. The programme will be introduced in Bengaluru, followed by a rollout across India, said a release from the company.

"At Ola Consumer, our aim is to ensure that every consumer has access to the best products and services without barriers of traditional commerce," said Bhavish Aggarwal, Founder, Ola Consumer.

Tech-enabled warehouses

Aggarwal also announced that the company would launch a network of tech-enabled warehouses.

Ola Consumer's vision is to have fully automated dark stores and state-of-the-art fulfillment centres, said the release. The company has partnerships with several large FMCG and D2C brands including ITC, Marico and Bombay Shaving Company for automated warehousing operations, in an effort to elevate logistics to reduce manual wastage and high costs of storage, the release added.

“This is the real future. No where else in the world has a 100% automated warehouse tech,” said Aggarwal, at the event that saw the launch of electric motorcycles, marking Ola's entry into the electric motorcycle segment.

Ola on ONDC

Ola food and grocery delivery service on ONDC surpassed 40K orders per day in Bengaluru in a pilot concluded in 2024, said the company. Ola Consumer is set to introduce more categories on ONDC soon.

Ola Consumer will offer one year of free Krutrim Cloud for all ONDC suppliers, applicable for startups and SMEs, under a fair usage policy. D2C brands will also be given one year of free access to Krutrim Cloud.

Other innovations

Other innovations of Ola Consumer include an AI shopping co-pilot and electric logistics.

The AI shopping tool will help users connect seamlessly with social media and other apps, creating an integrated shopping experience across platforms, said the release.

Ola Consumer also plans to drive cost synergies by electrifying delivery logistics and reducing logistics costs. This would serve as a choice of jobs for gig workers, said the company. It plans to add 2.5 lakh jobs by March 2025 with this platform.

(Shradha Sharma, Founder and CEO of YourStory, is an independent director in Ola Electric.)

The copy was updated with more information.