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Uber’s New Rival in Australia: An Indian Upstart

nytimes.com

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Re: Uber’s New Rival in Australia: An Indian Upstart

#61
post #14

In case, like me, you're unfamiliar with the term "Upstart" in this context. I found a few vague definitions that boil down to: Startups are entrepreneurial businesses that start with external funding. Upstarts are businesses that start without significant external funding.

Doesn't "upstart" have a slightly negative connotation?

Not really - rebel also has a slightly negative connotation.

How it sounds of depends if you are the empire, a Jedi or a sports fan.

In general I’ve seen ola fight tooth and nail against Uber by focusing on the vagaries and niches of the Indian market.

They took the fight to the a much stronger competitor. They couldn’t win on just funding advantages so kept carving out areas which Uber has not considered.

I’m betting Uber learnt a lot from that fight.

Let’s see how they fare in Australia. Wishing them Well.

Re: Uber’s New Rival in Australia: An Indian Upstart

#62

In the Indian market, Ola does a few things better than Uber. For example, they have an OTP, which is a 4-digit numerical code you need to provide to the driver at the start of every ride. In a low-trust market like India, this is instrumental in helping certain people pre-pay for this sort of service. Secondly, they've long had more options than Uber in types of service they provide: ie, rickshaw, car rentals, etc.…

Spend four weeks in India (Pune) recently.

Ola was by far more interesting and cheaper, but.. unavailable to me without local colleagues helping me. To sign up you needed an Indian mobile number (I brought a German and a Singaporean..). Unfortunate.

Uber in India was god awful.

Re: Uber’s New Rival in Australia: An Indian Upstart

#63
post #47
post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It keeps Uber honest. I have no idea at any time if Uber surge pricing is reasonable, being able to check against another app will help.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that there is competition but the vast majority of people just care about a car that turns up on time and doesn't cost them a fortune. If Taxify/Ola aren't doing anything majorly different from Uber then there's no reason for people to switch away from a service that proven to work.

Anecdotally Singapore has (local) Grab and Uber. People seem to use both, I personally made far better experiences with Grab.

Superficially they're the same, still there seems to be room for both and I personally prefer the Uber alternative more.

Re: Uber’s New Rival in Australia: An Indian Upstart

#64
post #43
post #41

(Sydney resident) Taxify launched here in December with 50% off rides, people jumped on board and ditched Uber. 50% rides ended - everyone went back to Uber, including myself. Can't seen this ending any differently unless Ola is significantly cheaper. ____ Just tried to sign up for Ola and they couldn't even send me the verification text to sign up with.

It keeps Uber honest. I have no idea at any time if Uber surge pricing is reasonable, being able to check against another app will help.

“Is reasonable”? It’s an algorithm in place for when demand outstrips supply.

Re: Uber’s New Rival in Australia: An Indian Upstart

#65

In the Indian market, Ola does a few things better than Uber. For example, they have an OTP, which is a 4-digit numerical code you need to provide to the driver at the start of every ride. In a low-trust market like India, this is instrumental in helping certain people pre-pay for this sort of service. Secondly, they've long had more options than Uber in types of service they provide: ie, rickshaw, car rentals, etc.…

Why do you think India is a low trust market ?

Re: Uber’s New Rival in Australia: An Indian Upstart

#67

In the Indian market, Ola does a few things better than Uber. For example, they have an OTP, which is a 4-digit numerical code you need to provide to the driver at the start of every ride. In a low-trust market like India, this is instrumental in helping certain people pre-pay for this sort of service. Secondly, they've long had more options than Uber in types of service they provide: ie, rickshaw, car rentals, etc.…

Why do you think India is a low trust market ?

Because it's a country dedicated to a short con followed by marriage to a young uneducated woman and more kids than common sense.

Re: Uber’s New Rival in Australia: An Indian Upstart

#68
post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you think India is a low trust market ?

Because it's a country dedicated to a short con followed by marriage to a young uneducated woman and more kids than common sense.

Toilet paper wipers of western countries have their perception thus moulded by mainstream media...

Re: Uber’s New Rival in Australia: An Indian Upstart

#69
post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you think India is a low trust market ?

Because it's a country dedicated to a short con followed by marriage to a young uneducated woman and more kids than common sense.

Painting with broad strokes much? Surely there are more reasons for the low-trust-ness than "the whole country is dedicated to conning the rest of the country"?

Re: Uber’s New Rival in Australia: An Indian Upstart

#70
post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you think India is a low trust market ?

Because it's a country dedicated to a short con followed by marriage to a young uneducated woman and more kids than common sense.

Welp, this is pretty damn racist.
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