Bengaluru: The commuters in Bengaluru can no more book Ola cabs for shared rides between 11 PM and 6 AM.

The app-based cab aggregator has released an official statement which says, “Ola Share is a popular choice for commuters during regular hours i.e., 6 AM to 11 PM. We have hence matched the availability of Ola Share to this time period to ensure value for money and viability for customers and partners respectively. Customers can continue to choose from a variety of mobility options from 11 PM-6 AM on the Ola platform and we remain committed to innovating and building localised mobility solutions.”

Ola has denied safety concerns to be the reason for the latest development as reported by some media sources. “Reports stating that the decision to stop shared rides was taken on safety grounds is baseless, as the Ola platform has a strong safety mechanism to ensure the safety of our customers. Between 11 PM and 6 AM, we often do not get passengers on the same route and this naturally makes their routes longer. Thus passengers end up paying the same amount they would have paid for a personal cab. Both the driver and customer lose money when this happens. So we have decided to stop the shared service from late in the night to early morning,” said a source from Ola.

Ola has already stopped the shared service during late night in Chennai.

Though commuters prefer shared cab rides as it is more economical, some cab associations want the service to be stopped. Cab associations say that shared cabs are against the Motor Vehicles Act.