Ola, popular for its Ola Cabs has launched auto service in Chennai. It now lets you book autos straight from your smartphone using the same Ola app that you use to book cabs. The Ola auto service was first introduced in Bangalore in pilot basis last month. The service is also available in Pune. The service is currently available only on the Ola App on Android and iPhone platforms. The Windows Phone app will get the feature soon.
Ola has three types of cab services – Prime, Sedan and Mini. The updated app now has a separate option as Auto. Once you see autos around, it immediately requests the nearest auto for you, and the driver will be notified of your location. You can track your rides, similar to the cab.
After the ride you can pay by meter as per government mandated fares, in cash. You also need to pay a convenience charge Rs.10 above the meter to the driver and night charges are extra as per the government, says Ola. Currently you can’t pay for auto rides using Ola Money. Currently there are 1000 autos. The company would expand it in future based on the response.