Ola rides in to the UK starting with South Wales Cardiff, Newport and Vale of Glamorgan

Launching in South Wales, home-grown autotech startup Ola has reportedly started its services in the UK market.

According to a report, Ola shared a statement saying, “Ola has today started its first UK services across South Wales, including in Cardiff, Newport and Vale of Glamorgan… It will be the only ride-hailing app in south Wales to offer customers the option of private hire vehicles (PHVs) and taxis on one user-friendly platform.”

The cab-aggregator also added that they are offering commission rates at 10% for PHV drivers and 5% for taxis in addition to payments being made daily – with the aim to give driver partners easier access to their earnings.

Ola claims have already obtained licences for operations in Greater Manchester and said they are working with local authorities across UK aiming to expand nationwide by the end of 2018. Ola UK Managing Director Ben Legg said, “We are determined to do a great job for the community and work closely with local authorities to help with their mobility goals.”

Shwmae Cymru 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿! We’re Ola – a dynamic, responsible ride-hailing company that places the quality of rides at the heart of our approach – and we’re excited to be here in South Wales- https://t.co/1UsEV6JkUv pic.twitter.com/8TTZQVkPfr

— Ola UK (@OlaInUK) August 20, 2018

International expansion became an evidently important part of Bengaluru-based company’s strategy after receiving funds from Japanese conglomerate Softbank last year. Ola’s first official entry into an international market was Australia – offering services in seven major cities including Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Supposedly, over 40,000 drivers have registered with it since launching in there in February.

While Softbank is a common investor for both Ola and Uber, both companies will be going head-to-head once again since UK is also an important market for the US-based rival.