While Uber is trying to set up cab booking kiosks at major railway stations, Ola is looking to take the user experience a notch further with the introduction of a couple new notification features. The ride-hailing service is today making ‘Just in Time’ and ‘Rich Notification’ features available to all travelers via an app update.
Now, let’s check out what each of the following features does and how is it beneficial to an average consumer.
The ‘Just in Time’ feature works on real-time stream processing. This system takes into account each user’s cab preference and instances of peak pricing or non-availability of cabs to send them real-time push notifications, the instant when a cab becomes available or when peak pricing for user’s desired cab category is coming to an end. The user can then tap this smart notification to jump into the app right away and complete the booking.
On the other, the local ride-hailing giant has also rolled out ‘Rich Notifications’ to help users track their booked ride through real-time push notifications. In this feature, you’ll first receive a notification with the driver photo, contact details along with car model and number. This notification, as the statement reads, will be constantly updated to with driver’s ETA and customer’s boarding status.
The Rich push notifications will also feature the Emergency SOS button, which according to safety regulations is now mandatory. The users will no longer need to jump in the app to call for help. They can just pull down the notification shade and send an emergency alert with the corresponding CRN, user details, cab and driver details, and the location where the red flag was raised.
Commenting on the addition of these two new features, Ankit Bhati, co-Founder and CTO at Ola, said,
Ola has always focused on ensuring adequate supply to match growing demand, but there are occasions when demand completely outstrips supply.
To enable customers to do more while they wait to book or board a cab, Ola has developed ‘Just in Time’ and ‘Rich Notifications’, to provide real-time cab updates. These features work on predictive analysis of data to provide smart real-time push notifications to its customers.
Though these technology updates are nothing but minor additions to the customer experience, still they’ll prove to be extremely helpful and time-saving as you’d no longer need to curse(or maybe you do!) Ola due to surge pricing and unavailability of cabs. You can chill and lay low until the app sends you the required notification to book the desired cab.
