Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Thursday, Nov 13, 2025

SoftBank-backed taxi app Ola launches in London, looking to topple Uber as No. 1 player

Ola rolls out its taxi-booking service in London on Monday, as Uber faces the threat of being banned. The India-based firm says it wants to be the “market leader” in the U.K. capital. The company claims its focus on safety differentiates it from other players.

Indian ride-hailing app Ola has launched in London, where Uber faces the threat of being banned, as it aims to topple the Silicon Valley giant as market leader in the U.K. capital.

The company, which shares tech investing juggernaut SoftBank as an investor with Uber, rolls out its taxi-booking service in the city on Monday. The firm’s app is similar in many ways to Uber’s but has a few safety-focused features it says make it stand out.

For instance, when a passenger gets into a car, they have to input a unique four-digit code before the driver can start the trip. It also comes packed with an artificial intelligence-powered system called Guardian, which picks up on deviations in route patterns and gets Ola to check with the driver or customer that “nothing untoward” is happening.

“We aspire to be the market leader in London,” Simon Smith, Ola’s head of international, told CNBC in an interview. “We believe that, with our proposition around quality and safety, offering a great experience not only for customers but drivers as well, there is no reason why we can’t be market leader in this market.”

The firm has already registered over 25,000 drivers in London, just over half of Uber’s 45,000 in the city. It’s also partnered with the training unit of U.K. motoring association AA, education firm Pearson and consulting giant Mercer to test its drivers on risk assessment, English speaking and customer service.

Ola’s arrival in London comes as its key rival, Uber, fights for survival in the city. Local regulator Transport for London (TfL) decided not to renew Uber’s license to operate in November, citing a “pattern of failures” that put the safety of its passengers at risk. For now, the company can continuing operating in London as it appeals the decision.

According to TfL, drivers were able to game Uber’s system to pick up passengers without being authorized. It says they were able to do this by uploading their photos to another driver’s account. This happened in at least 14,000 trips and some of the drivers were unlicensed, TfL said.

Asked whether Ola’s system could be similarly exploited, Smith said he’s “confident there won’t be an issue,” but if there is, it’ll contact the regulators to “explain what’s happened and what our plan is to rectify it.” Its app also has an emergency tool that can be selected to alert Ola, a customer’s relatives and the emergency services.

To incentivize drivers to use its platform initially, Ola isn’t taking commission off them for the first six weeks of its launch. After that, the firm will take an 18% cut of all rides, less than Uber’s 25% commission rate. Meanwhile, passengers will be given up to £25 in ride vouchers if they sign up in the first week after launch.

London is awash with ride-hailing operators already, with Estonia’s Bolt and France’s Kapten also looking to chip away at Uber’s dominance. The rise of Uber and the new entrants has put pressure on London’s iconic black cabs, as they often charge much cheaper fares.

While such ride-sharing services have proven popular, investors have been concerned about whether such businesses can become profitable. Uber and Lyft’s share prices are both down since they listed last year, due to concerns over their huge losses, though Uber insists it can reach profitability by the end of the year.

Ola says it has a better shot at reaching profitability than its competitors, as it’s already reached positive earnings in its home market of India. London isn’t the firm’s first U.K. market, and Smith said that, over the last three months, it’s seen 60% growth in bookings in Birmingham, while bookings have doubled in Exeter and Reading.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Cristiano Ronaldo Embraces Saudi Arabia’s 2034 World Cup Vision with Key Role
Saudi Arabia’s Execution Campaign Escalates as Crown Prince Readies U.S. Visit
Trump Unveils Middle East Reset: Syria Re-engaged, Saudi Ties Amplified
Saudi Arabia to Build Future Cities Designed with Tourists in Mind, Says Tourism Minister
Saudi Arabia Advances Regulated Stablecoin Plans with Global Crypto Exchange Support
Saudi Arabia Maintains Palestinian State Condition Ahead of Possible Israel Ties
Chinese Steel Exports Surge 41% to Saudi Arabia as Mills Pivot Amid Global Trade Curbs
Saudi Arabia’s Biban Forum 2025 Secures Over US$10 Billion in Deals Amid Global SME Drive
Saudi Arabia Sets Pre-Conditions for Israel Normalisation Ahead of Trump Visit
MrBeast’s ‘Beast Land’ Arrives in Riyadh as Part of Riyadh Season 2025
Cristiano Ronaldo Asserts Saudi Pro League Outperforms Ligue 1 Amid Scoring Feats
AI Researchers Claim Human-Level General Intelligence Is Already Here
Saudi Arabia Pauses Major Stretch of ‘The Line’ Megacity Amid Budget Re-Prioritisation
Saudi Arabia Launches Instant e-Visa Platform for Over 60 Countries
Dick Cheney, Former U.S. Vice President, Dies at 84
Saudi Crown Prince to Visit Trump at White House on November Eighteenth
Trump Predicts Saudi Arabia Will Normalise with Israel Ahead of 18 November Riyadh Visit
Entrepreneurial Momentum in Saudi Arabia Shines at Riyadh Forward 2025 Summit
Saudi Arabia to Host First-Ever International WrestleMania in 2027
Saudi Arabia to Host New ATP Masters Tournament from 2028
Trump Doubts Saudi Demand for Palestinian State Before Israel Normalisation
Viral ‘Sky Stadium’ for Saudi Arabia’s 2034 World Cup Debunked as AI-Generated
Deal Between Saudi Arabia and Israel ‘Virtually Impossible’ This Year, Kingdom Insider Says
Saudi Crown Prince to Visit Washington While Israel Recognition Remains Off-Table
Saudi Arabia Leverages Ultra-Low Power Costs to Drive AI Infrastructure Ambitions
Saudi Arabia Poised to Channel Billions into Syria’s Reconstruction as U.S. Sanctions Linger
Smotrich’s ‘Camels’ Remark Tests Saudi–Israel Normalisation Efforts
Saudi Arabia and Qatar Gain Structural Edge in Asian World Cup Qualification
Israeli Energy Minister Delays $35 Billion Gas Export Agreement with Egypt
Fincantieri and Saudi Arabia Agree to Build Advanced Maritime Ecosystem in Kingdom
Saudi Arabia’s HUMAIN Accelerates AI Ambitions Through Major Partnerships and Infrastructure Push
IOC and Saudi Arabia End Ambitious 12-Year Esports Games Partnership
CSL Seqirus Signs Saudi Arabia Pact to Provide Cell-Based Flu Vaccines and Build Local Production
Qualcomm and Saudi Arabia’s HUMAIN Team Up to Deploy 200 MW AI Infrastructure
Saudi Arabia’s Economy Expands Five Percent in Third Quarter Amid Oil Output Surge
China’s Vice President Han Zheng Meets Saudi Crown Prince as Trade Concerns Loom
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
Syria Holds First Elections Since Fall of Assad
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
×