News Update

Ola set to launch own mapping system for cars and mobile applications

• ByStartupStory     |    January 6, 2023

Major in electric and mobility cars Ola is working on a specialised mapping system for its cars and applications, and it will go live soon.

Ola’s founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal confirmed the development in a tweet on Thursday (January 5). “Testing our own Ola maps! Will be live in the Ola app and our vehicles in a couple of months!” said Aggarwal.

The CEO of Ola stated that the company is also creating an application programme interface (API) for developers so they can integrate Ola Maps into their products or automobiles.“Will also be making a dev API for all those who want to use world-class maps for India in their apps,” said Aggarwal in the tweet.

The internal maps system will attempt to replace Google Maps, which presently powers Ola’s mapping services.

The geospatial sector, which is dominated by Google and includes MapmyIndia as a significant participant, is being entered by the mobility giant. The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System, popularly known as NavIC, is another navigation system created by the Indian government.

The mapping system for Ola’s ride-sharing app and lineup of electric two-wheelers will launch first. The action might aid the company in enhancing the reliability and performance of its goods.

The company might have used the government’s NavIC system to develop a maps service on top of the geospatial data, however more information about the maps system is not yet accessible.

The change occurs after the taxi aggregator revealed it would test an electric vehicle (EV) taxi service in Bengaluru. The mobility unicorn claims that Ola will eventually increase the number of EV cabs to 10,000. The firm is starting out with 1,000 of them.

Even as Ola made a comeback as the leading EV player over the past few months, its mobility business has come in for criticism. The taxi aggregator has been charged with providing poor service and mistreating its gig employees. Users have complained about bad treatment, ride cancellations, and payment troubles while calling a cab through the app.

Additionally, Ola, Uber, and Dunzo received a score of zero on a scale of 0–10 in a recent assessment by Fairwork India Ratings 2022 for treating gig workers the worst.

In contrast, the company’s EV division had a turnaround once registrations started to fall in the middle of 2022. According to government data, Ola Electric registered 16,246 vehicles in November 2022, which was the most.

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