You can book Ola via SMS now in poor network conditions

Ola, the cab aggregator, announced the launch of ‘Ola Offline’ across key metros in India, which will enable customers to book a cab even without the Internet on their smartphones.

The feature will be available across all cab categories viz. Micro, Mini, Prime and Lux. Starting with four metro cities, Ola plans to roll out the feature in rest of the cities, over the coming weeks.

Users will now get two options, 'Retry or Book via SMS'. In the absence of an Internet connection, customers can go with the second option. After which users will be redirected to their default messaging app where they will see a pre-entered text message requesting Ola to book a cab.

On sending the text message, users will get an SMS with the particulars of the nearest available cabs across categories. Once they select their preferred cab category, they will receive driver and cab details instantly by SMS.

The driver, on the other hand, will also receive customer contact details and the GPS triangulated the location of the user.

Once the internet connectivity resumes, the ride details, GPS tracking, SOS button, and other features associated with the ride will be available for the user on the Ola app.

Ankit Bhati, CTO & Co-Founder, Ola said, “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.”

The ‘Offline’ feature was piloted in several smaller markets like Indore and Nagpur and saw significant acceptance among the consumers in these cities over the past few weeks. Following its success in these markets, the feature will be rolled across all the 102 cities that Ola operates in.