Yahoo Finance Here is proof of India’s desperation for taxis: 2.5 billion phone calls in three months
India’s lack of efficient public transport systems is pushing the demand for taxis like never before.
About 2.5 billion phone calls were made between Indians and taxi operators between January 1, 2016, and April 17, 2016, according to data from Truecaller, the caller ID app. Here’s the breakdown of the call volumes:
Most of the calls—48.3%—were to local taxi drivers. The data “was analyzed from incoming and outgoing calls tagged as taxi services,” the company said in a blog.
Most major Indian metros have congested and overcrowded (pdf) public transport systems, which is why on-demand taxis are in huge demand in Asia’s third largest economy. The size of the taxi market in India is estimated to be around Rs80,000 crore ($12 billion)—but only 5% of it is organised.
Uber Vs Ola
The Truecaller data also throws some light on the intense rivalry between Ola and Uber in India. So far, Ola is clearly ahead—in terms of its geographical reach—with services across 100 Indian cities. Uber currently operates in 27 cities. The call data also shows that there is a bigger demand for Ola’s cabs.
According to Truecaller, 102 million calls were made between Ola and its customers. For Uber, this number was 39 million.
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