The country’s largest cab-hailing online aggregator Ola is phasing out TaxiForSure, the competitor it acquired in March for $200 million.
TaxiForSure will no longer exist in 22 cities but continue to operate as an independent brand in the top 30 cities with a strong focus on building the most economical brand in the personal transportation business.
“We have ensured a smooth transition for driver and operator partners from the TFS platform to Ola’s in terms of technology and training to ensure that nothing changes for customers in these cities. TFS continues to offer the most economical fares in 30 cities across the country, starting ₹49,” the company said in a statement.
The Ola mini base fare is ₹80 in Bengaluru and ₹100 in Delhi.
The first signs of phasing out TFS as an independent brand began in the last week of June, when Ola made hatchbacks from TaxiForSure available for direct booking from the Ola app, starting with Delhi and Mumbai and rolling it out to other cities in phases over the next few weeks.
When asked why TFS hatchbacks were available on the Ola app which already offers hatchbacks of its own, Anand Subramanian, Director of Marketing Communications, had rationalised the move saying, the company wanted to offer customers the brand promise of TFS which is the most economical cab at the lowest fare.
A source in the company pointed out that Coimbatore, Hubli-Dharwad, Visakhapatnam, Sholapur, Madurai, Ambala and Dehradun and so on, were non-performing cities.
“It does not make sense to increase costs by having two sets of operations in those cities. Therefore, the consolidation in those cities,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ola has announced an offer on TFS bookings on its app starting August 4, where consumers will get a ₹100-Snapdeal coupon on their next TFS ride booked on the Ola app.
The offer posted on Ola’s blog continues with the TFS brand promise and says “It is “THE” most economical option for you to get around town”.