Are You Planning on Driving for Ola in London?

If your interested on driving for Ola in London, I will cover the new driver incentives and the Ola driver plans.

Ola are finally set to launch in London as the latest addition to the ever growing London rideshare market.

The Indian transport company who already operate in over 120 cities will start taking rides on the 10th February. Ola revealed today their opening incentives for drivers and riders to kickstart demand with the hope that both parties continue to use the platform in the future.

What are the New Driver Incentives?

Ola are offering 0% commission to all new drivers up until the 22nd March. The commission rate will then jump up to 18% which is still competitive compared to 25% with Uber although slightly more that Bolt at 15%

All the new drivers that sign up and complete the online training will receive £50 after only their first trip taken before the 15th February.

They are also offering £50 after completing 30 trips in 15 days and £50 for every new driver that signs up with your unique referral code. 

What are the New Rider Incentives?

All passengers will receive £5 off there first 5 trips between February 10th and March 22nd.

This is a substantial saving of £25 especially for someone who takes regular rides as they can potentially get their first 5 rides for free. 

What Will Ola do Differently

In a bid to separate themselves from the competition, Ola have also revealed a unique concept that we haven’t seen yet in the British ride share market.

Uber have kept it simple with a basic concept of providing the platform and taking 25% of each ride taken. 

Zareou are introducing an affiliate loyalty scheme where drivers will share a percentage of each ride that is taken by the drivers and riders they refer to the platform.

Ola will still stick to the traditional Uber model which they call Ola Flex with the added option of two different driver plans. 

What are Ola Driver Plans?

Ola are offering 2 driver plans called Ola Ultimate and Ola OneStop. With both plans, you pay a weekly fee which enables you to pay 0% commision on all your rides. Both plans also guarantee you a fixed weekly income meaning that if you have earned less than the weekly target, Ola will top it up to the guaranteed amount.

Ola Ultimate

* £1000 weekly guaranteed – Must complete 50 hours on the Ola platform with at least 25 hours during peak times and maintain a completion rate of 80%.

* Weekly subscription fee of £165

* 0% commission

Ola OneStop

* £1100 weekly guarantee – Must complete 60 hours on the Ola platform with at least 30 hours during peak times and maintain a completion rate of 80%.

* Includes car rental + insurance + maintenance + roadside assistance

* Weekly subscription fee of £385

* 0% commission

Are the Ola Driver Plans Worth It?

This is a new concept that we haven’t seen yet in the rideshare market so it’s hard to tell yet if it is worth it. An American company called Tryp who where launching with the same subscription model, folded recently before they even took off, so we have yet to see if this model will benefit drivers.

If Ola where not offering guaranteed weekly earnings, I wouldn’t even consider it, but the fact that you know you are going to earn a minimum amount every week, even in the quietest of times, is very comforting.

Ola are entering the London market with already established big players like Uber, Bolt, Kapten, Viavan and imminently Zareou, so the question is, how much of the market share can they really claim. Will there be enough demand for drivers to really make a living? Well with the guaranteed weekly earnings it doesn’t matter as the pressure all drivers face every week of hitting their targets will not be there.

With the Ola Ultimate plan the guarantee is £1000. When you minus the subscription fee of £165 that leaves you with a minimum of £835 every week. If you only work the 50 hours required that works out to £16.70 an hour. Anything earned over the £1000 will bump up that hourly rate massively as it will also be commission free.

Most good drivers aim for an average of £20 per hour, which is possible in busy periods, but not guaranteed. In quiet times it can be as low as £10 per hour so then the guaranteed minimum of £16.70 on the Ola Ultimate plan starts to look more appealing.

With the Ola OneStop plan, the guarantee jumps up to £1100 but you have to be logged onto the app for 60 plus hours with a minimum of 30 in peak times.

The weekly fee is a hefty £385 but that includes a fully covered car also. If you minus the weekly fee of £385 from the weekly guarantee of £1100 you are left with £715.

Overall the OneStop plan ends up costing you £120 more than the Ultimate plan but for that you get a fully covered pco ready car. When you consider that it costs about £220 to rent a car, the OneStop plan can end up costing the same as the Ultimate plan with the added benefit of a PCO car.

For the drivers who log 50 plus hours every week, these plans can be worth it. In busy periods of the year where demand is high, it will be possible to go over the guarantee and earn really good money. Conversely, in quiet months, you will benefit from a weekly guarantee making it a win win situation for Ola drivers.

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