Who is #OlaRental best suited for?

I have to be honest here. I was a bit sceptical about choosing a rental cab service. I have had some pretty sour experiences in the past. In Mumbai while attending a book launch a few years ago, I was at my wits end arguing with a local rental cab company driver who had claimed a fixed 6 hours ride initially and then charged me double the fare at the end of it, saying with a smirk that the 6 hours included returning me back to the same spot and now I had to pay him the extra fare for his return back! Mind you, I was still in the heart of Mumbai and not in some faraway isolated locale when the ride ended. I did not want to return to my original spot but he harassed me into finally paying the extra fare.

That incident put me off rentals for a long time but with quite a few places to visit, I decided to try out the #OlaRental option last week once I landed in Mangalore. It was necessary because I had limited time on my hands and with multiple stops along the way, could not afford to keep heading back to the hotel to drop things off before starting the next leg of the journey.

 I opted for the eight hour package - the mobile app of Ola Cabs allows you to choose the hours based on your needs starting from 1 hour onwards. 

This was a huge benefit for me and available at an amount lesser than when I had travelled a few years ago using an alternate cab service where there was only a fixed 4 hour or 8 hour package. 

I got the best car to travel thanks to OLA Rentals.

Mr Pradeep, my driver for the day, was a polite and knowledgeable fellow and knew the ins-and-outs of the city without having to refer the maps, choosing the best roads and driving smoothly after I had mentioned my residing back ailments. Our trips took us zig-zagging across Mangalore to half a dozen spots - and mind you, I even cancelled one location halfway through the journey after a sudden change of plans - and each time, what was really reassuring was him telling me to take my time and that he would be ready when I was done with my work.

My first stop was, in many ways, a walk down memory lane. Over 16 years ago, I used to visit the pristine temple of Kudroli in Mangalore every weekend. It's been nearly a decade since I stepped foot inside it though and today, walking through the vast space felt like revisiting an important phase of my past.  

From Kudroli, I headed off to another popular landmark of Mangalore, Janata Deluxe, where I met a fellow doctor and shared many a laugh over old memories and a tasty breakfast. From there, it was off to the malls! Forum Fiza Mall is one of the largest malls in Karnataka and over the course of two hours, my chubby frame probably did more walking inside the mall than I had done all month! 

By the time I was done, it was time to pick up a fellow friend and head off to lunch and this is where the ‘share details’ part of the Ola rental app came in handy. 

Sending him the details enabled him to track my location in real time as I headed towards his house so that he did not have to wait for us in the afternoon sun. From there, we headed off to Gajalee to savour the best of Mangalore’s seafood.

Here is the thing. Can you imagine me going around shopping in a mall carrying the 'flowers and coconut' prasadam that I got from Kudroli temple or stepping into a refined restaurant like Gajalee carrying coconuts, flowers, shoes, socks and duffel bags? 

That for me was the biggest advantage of OLA rental - that I could go from place to place and leave everything safely in the car without having to carry it all to the next destination, something which I definitely could not have done if I was choosing different cabs.

    

Paying at the end of the journey was again not a hassle both in terms of mode (there are multiple options to pay for the ride, both digital or direct) as well as when it came to transparency as the rates are all visible in the app right from the start so there is no disagreement.

In fact, I ended my travel an hour earlier than I had booked since I had to do some packing in the hotel and was happy to see that the final price acknowledged the hours actually spent and did not bill me the extra hour which I had initially booked for. I have had the misfortune of being charged the full rate when I ended the ride early with a certain competitor of OLA in the past so it was heartening to see this.

The booking process:

It is really ridiculously simple to book an Ola rental. 

You can opt for anything from a small hatchback to a luxury sedan, based on your needs. The features and rate cards are displayed based on your choice of car and hours for complete transparency.

Who should consider using Ola Rental:

I thought about this a lot while returning home and these are some of the groups for whom I feel Ola Rental would be ideal.

•  It is perfect for travelers and tourists who want to have the triple benefit of comfort, safety and transparency.
• It is ideal when you are attending functions like weddings and parties as you can enjoy the occasion and know that you will safely reach home, no matter what hour it is.
• And of course, the dreaded parking in cramped or busy locations which stops you from going out on weekends becomes a thing of the past. You can shop till you drop without worrying about parking or carrying a dozen bags as you light up the city!
• You can book for others! Want to take your parents to the doctors or pick up a friend from the airport and you can't make it? That is totally fine since this becomes a safe-trustworthy option.
• Great for everyday routines like going for swimming lessons.

Today, Ola Cabs has a presence in 91 cities in India and is steadily increasing that number every year. Friends and family all over recommend it over the competition, citing the enhanced security features, transparency of bill and ability to choose the vehicle based on your needs, be it a hatchback or a luxury SUV.

To that list, I now add the wonderful rental option Ola provides based on my own personal experience. 

Me with the wonderfully polite driver of my Ola Rental, Mr Pradeep.