Ola, TFS or Uber – Which is cheaper?

The arrival of private cab operators like Meru Cabs, Dot Cabs and Sky Cabs certainly improved the options for comfortable travel within Hyderabad but these services have pretty much relegated themselves to Airport-runs.

The arrival of Ola Cabs, Taxi for Sure and Uber actually heralded the end of dependence on the infamous Hyderabad Auto-wallah whose vocabulary consists of a single word – No.

Like our dear mobile phone companies, the cab companies too now have a variety of service plans and each new plan is slightly more convoluted than the one before.

The table below illustrates the comparison of basic plans from Ola, TFS and Uber. Note that ride time has been calculated at 20 KM/Hour – which sits in the sweet spot of about 15 KM/Hour in heavy traffic situations and 30 KM/Hour speed that we experience in low-medium traffic situations.

Service Plans of Ola Cabs, Ola Taxi for Sure and Uber at Hyderabad (as on 16-Mar-2016):

	Ola Mini	Ola Micro	Ola TFS	Ola SUV	Ola Sedan	UberGO	UberX	UberSUV
Base	0	35	0	0	0	25	45	120
Minimum Fare	90	50	49	150	100	50	80	160
Minimum Distance	4	8	2	5	4	7	9	8
Std Fare Per KM	7	6	6	18	9	7	9	20
Premium Amount	62	2	37	60	64	1	0	0
Ride Time Charge	1	1	1.5	2	1	0.95	1	2.5

Approximate Fare Chart: (excluding Service tax etc.)

KM	Fare
	Ola Mini	Ola Micro	Ola TFS	Ola SUV	Ola Sedan	UberGO	UberX	UberSUV
1	90	85	49	150	100	75	125	280
2	90	85	49	150	100	75	125	280
3	90	85	68.5	150	100	75	125	280
4	90	85	79	150	100	75	125	280
5	112	85	89.5	150	124	75	125	280
6	122	85	100	204	136	75	125	280
7	132	85	110.5	228	148	75	125	280
8	142	85	121	252	160	104.8	125	280
9	152	118	131.5	276	172	114.65	125	367.5
10	162	127	142	300	184	124.5	165	395
11	172	136	152.5	324	196	134.35	177	422.5
12	182	145	163	348	208	144.2	189	450
13	192	154	173.5	372	220	154.05	201	477.5
14	202	163	184	396	232	163.9	213	505
15	212	172	194.5	420	244	173.75	225	532.5
16	222	181	205	444	256	183.6	237	560
17	232	190	215.5	468	268	193.45	249	587.5
18	242	199	226	492	280	203.3	261	615
19	252	208	236.5	516	292	213.15	273	642.5
20	262	217	247	540	304	223	285	670
21	272	226	257.5	564	316	232.85	297	697.5
22	282	235	268	588	328	242.7	309	725
23	292	244	278.5	612	340	252.55	321	752.5
24	302	253	289	636	352	262.4	333	780
25	312	262	299.5	660	364	272.25	345	807.5
26	322	271	310	684	376	282.1	357	835
27	332	280	320.5	708	388	291.95	369	862.5
28	342	289	331	732	400	301.8	381	890
29	352	298	341.5	756	412	311.65	393	917.5
30	362	307	352	780	424	321.5	405	945
	Ola Mini	Ola Micro	Ola TFS	Ola SUV	Ola Sedan	UberGO	UberX	UberSUV

Plot of Fare Chart:

Inferences:

• If you travel very short distance up-to 4 KMs, Ola Taxi for Sure is the most economical service.
• If you travel intermediate distances up-to 7 KMs, Ola Micro and UberGo are the most economical services with Uber-Go being cheaper.
• If you travel long distance up-to 30 KMs in small car, Ola Micro is the most economical service and Ola Mini is the most expensive.
• Over long distance up-to 30 KMs, considering Ola Micro as the base, Ola TFS is 14.65% more expensive, Ola Mini is 17.91% more expensive, Ola Sedan is 38.11% more expensive and Ola SUV is 154% more expensive.
• Ola Micro gives you the longest ride for a fixed price and is also the cheapest above distances of 10 KMs.
• In Sedan category, Ola Sedan has the lowest entry point, but UberX is cheaper from 5 KM distance onwards.
• In SUV category, Ola SUV wins hands down.