Ola Outstation: Here's why I moved to it for all my outstation travels!

Ola Outstation is a inter-city cab service provided by Ola Cabs, and has become my choice of transport for most of my travels too. I have used it extensively in Maharashtra as well as Uttar Pradesh and have been happy by it's service most of the time. By why? Read on to know more.

I must confess I am a bit finicky when it comes to reaching anywhere on time, and it's a policy for me to reach early rather than even a minute late. Anyone who'e been with me long enough would know this and I am rather proud of it. I often leave for the destination keeping potential traffic and congestion in mind and very strongly believe that no excuse can ever justify any delay. If you are late, you are late. Period.

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On a journey...

My Outstation story

However something happened last year that almost dented my image severely and changed the way I travel now. I lived in Pune back then and often travelled to Mumbai for work. We knew a local taxi guy and always rented a car from him and that's exactly what I did that fateful day. To reach at 9am I decided to leave at 5am and was dutifully ready by 4.45am. However, this is when things started going haywire. The taxi guy just didn't pick my call and after three missed calls switched his phone off. It was already 5.30 by then and I called up the owner who also didn't pick my call till 6am. When he did pick the call, he apologised and said he will manage something else for me. Finally even at 7am I was still without a cab and eventually took an 8am bus to Mumbai. Thankfully in Mumbai too my meeting got postponed and no one realised how close I was to being very very late.

What this did do was convince me to look at alternatives and I decided to try out Ola Outstation. My first ride with them was flawless, and since then I never tried anything else at all for my outstation travels. From a simple app based service to travel between two cities, it has come a long way to giving you a lot as a traveller. It's available now across more than 75 cities which means that if you are reading this, you can most likely use it as well :)

Some cool new features with Ola Outstation

A couple of weeks back when I sister (who lives in Singapore) was travelling from Pune to catch her flight in Mumbai, I recommended Ola Outstation because I knew the journey will keep the kids occupied and give my sister sometime to rest. How? Well, Ola now has an entertainment system in the car called 'Ola Play' and connected with wifi. So you can watch movies and listen to music and the journey will get quickly. And if you want to instead do it through you mr phone, you can also connect to the complimentary wifi on-board. I have used this to not only surf but also work on my journeys. It's already present in 5 cities and will be rolled out to more soon.

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Reaching Mumbai early in the morning

You can also book the cab either just 45 minutes of your travels, or even 7 days in advance. What do I do? Well, I usually get up in the morning and immediately book the cab, and by the time I am ready to leave the cab is at my door. I also talk to the driver in advance to make sure he understands the location well so we don't lose on any time.

Interestingly, you can book Ola Outstation on your mobile app as well as through an internet browser. If you haven't used it so far, here's a cool deal for you - use the code "TRAVEL300" to avail ₹300 off on your first Ola Outstation. The offer is valid only till 31st August 2017.

Interested? Book now :)

So does it mean Ola Outstation is perfect?

Well, as a designer I know that nothing is ever perfect and there is always a scope for improvement - both in service and user experience.

Last year I had once gone to Mumbai film city for a jig used Ola Outstation for a return trip, but couldn't connect at all to my driver when it was time to head back due to poor connectivity. However, the online service centre staff was great and helped me locate my driver. By the way in my experience, Ola is the only app based cab service provider where you can call the service centre and expect to speak to someone to resolve your problems.

What more do I want from Ola Outstation?

Well, as a traveller I am greedy and always want more. With Ola Outstation this is my desire - shared Outstation rides. I completely understand that security might be a concern and we might not be ready for it as yet, but this trip will help us travellers save some money as well, and possibly make new friends too.

Do you have also have some experiences to share with Ola? Do share in the comments below.

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Disclaimer: this post is written in collaboration with Ola cabs. All views expressed are my own and based on my personal experiences with the cab service.

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