Ola says will shut ‘connected’ car platform Ola Play from November 15

Ride-hailing firm Ola will shut its ‘Ola Play’ service in India, effective November 15.

“Ola restricts any third party from any kind of usage, modification or transfer of device, more particularly during the ride hailing services,” it said in a public notice published in a newspaper on Friday.

Parent entity ANI Technologies has taken appropriate measures to remove the segment from the market, it added.


Ola launched Ola Play in 2016 as a ‘connected’ car platform, with music and other value-added services. Ola Play cabs were listed separately on the Ola app and had a higher fare.

Ola did not respond to ET’s email seeking comment.

The development comes at a time when Ola’s rival Uber has started piloting in-car tablets to display advertisements and value-added services to riders in Delhi and Mumbai, as part of a global rollout. ET had reported this development in September.

Ola Play was launched with the aim of attracting premium customers who were, at the time, moving towards Uber.

Initially, drivers were keen on having the tabs installed in their cars, as they attracted higher fares.

However, Ola started facing issues with the project, especially with the advertising model, with cost-per-click and cost-per-view metrics being lower in India.

Ride-sharing companies in other countries have launched similar projects.

For instance, Southeast Asia’s Grab installed tablets inside cars in 2018.

Lyft, a US-based rival of Uber, launched in-car tablets curated specifically for the rideshare experience in August. These tablets feature a dynamic route map, an integrated music experience, and one-touch driver tipping. Lyft is currently onboarding pilot advertisers for this project.