India's Ola brings its no-surge pricing, ride-sharing service to more cities

India’s Uber rival, Ola, is making it affordable for even more people in the country to use its cabs.

The country’s largest ride-hailing service today said it’s expanding Ola Share Pass to four new cities — Delhi-NCR, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Pune. With today’s announcement, Ola Share Pass is now available in seven of the 15 cities where car pooling Ola Share program is available. Ola's rival Uber currently doesn't have any similar offering.

Ola Share Pass, first unveiled in October, is a deviation from other cab services on the platform. Through Ola Share Pass, the cab aggregator is letting people pay for as many as 40 rides at once. What’s in it for commuters? No surge pricing on any of those rides.

For instance, commuters in Bengaluru pay Rs 40 (60 cents) for any ride they take — provided their commute distance is within 8 kilometres. Raghuvesh Sarup, CMO and Head of Categories at Ola said Ola Share Pass’ limited launch has received an overwhelming demand from commuters, who have pre-booked over five million rides already. Ola Share Pass is seeing same commuters ride more often on the platform, a spokesperson said.

Ola Share Pass lets commuters pay for 10, or 20 rides as well. Another executive with the company added that through this initiative, they have been able to not only encourage more people to take Ola cabs, but also reduce carbon footprint and do their part for the betterment of environment.

"Ola Share makes air conditioned cab rides pocket-friendly and eco-friendly. Inspired by the customary Indian option of a ‘monthly pass’ for regular commuters, Share Pass is a first-of-its-kind product which offers fixed fares per ride, and a predictable and consistent fare for regular Ola Share users," Sarup said in a press statement.