Ola and Uber have been engaged in a constant battle to outdo the other player by offering additional services and facilities across the country. However, the Indian born company, Ola, has currently upgraded their technology and come up with a new and revolutionary feature called Ola Offline which gives customers the option of booking cabs even when they aren’t connected to the internet. The feature will be available for all types of bookings- Micro, mini, prime, share and shuttle. Currently, the feature exists in the metro cities but will soon be available across all cities where Ola is available.
This feature has been introduced because even though internet penetration in the country is increasing, many small towns and cities aren’t very well-equipped with the idea of internet and how to use it. By offering this feature, Ola will help them with their struggle with the internet.
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“As the country ushers in the digital revolution with projects such as Digital India and Smart Cities, the way users experience technology is changing. While connectivity continues to be an infrastructural challenge, we are constantly building innovative technology that helps fill the gap, and the launch of the ‘Offline feature’ is a major step in that direction. We understand that while an Ola might be available around you, a working Internet connection might not always be. Ola Offline will now plug this gap.” – Ankit Bhati, CTO & Co-Founder
The process:
When the booking option on the app fails due to bad/no internet connectivity, you get two options: Retry or Book via SMS. Choose the latter and you will be able to see a pre-entered text message requesting Ola services. Send this message and once received by the company, you will be receive an SMS with the information about the nearest cabs across the various categories. Select the preferred cab category and in some time, you’ll receive the details about the cab and the driver and the driver can locate the user through GPS tracking system and via call.
Meanwhile, if your internet connectivity resumes, all features will be available on the app again.
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