Rider FAQs

Booking an Ola is super easy. Simply, follow the steps below:

• Open the app
• Select your ride type
• Enter your pick-up and drop-off location
• Tap Apply Coupon and redeem your offer
• Tap Continue and then Confirm Booking

After you have booked your ride and a driver has accepted, you’ll see the:

• Driver’s name
• Estimated time of arrival
• Driver rating
• Profile photo
• Car details
  

When your driver arrives, you’ll receive a push notification letting you know they have arrived at your pick-up location.

If you have any special instructions or need to speak to your driver, you can give them a call in the app by tapping ‘Call Driver’. 

Your pick-up location will automatically set to your current GPS location. If you’d like to change it, there’s a couple of ways to do so:

• Tap ‘pickup location’ at the top of the screen and enter your address.
• Drag the pin to the right location on the map.

You will need to enter your drop-off location before confirming your booking. You can do this by:

• Entering the address in the ‘drop location’ field at the top of the screen.
• Moving the pin to your location on the map.
  

You can also change your drop location during your ride by:

• Tap ‘Drop at’ at the top of the screen and enter the correct drop-off location.
• Moving the pin to your location on the map.

You can save your most frequently visited locations by:

• Simply tapping the ‘heart’ icon on the right side of the location field and select the category that best suits that location.
• When inputting your pick-up and drop-off location, enter the name of that category and the address will automatically populate.

Apply a coupon by viewing your active promotions in the ‘notifications’ section of the app. 

To apply a coupon to your ride:

1. Open the Ola app
2. Select your car type and enter your pick-up and drop-off location.
3. Tap ‘Apply Coupon’ at the bottom of the screen
4. Tap ‘Confirm booking’

Once your booking is confirmed, you’ll be able to track your ride and see the following details on your app in real time:

• Your driver’s ETA and current location.
• The driver’s route to your pick-up address.
• The entire route of your ride.

Once you request a ride and your booking is confirmed, you can easily share your ride details with family and friends.

• Simply tap the ‘Share Details’ button at the bottom of the screen on your app while you are riding.
• Select who you would like to share your ride details with and a link will be sent to them via SMS.
• You can also pre-select up to 5 contacts to automatically send your ride details to each time you take a ride.

You can pay for your ride using a credit/debit card or PayPal.
Follow the steps below to add these payment methods to your account:

1. Select ‘Payments’ from the main menu in the app.
2. Click on ‘Add another card’.
3. Enter your card details and click ‘Save Card’.

You can change your payment method before booking a ride, follow these steps below to do so:

1. Enter your pick-up and drop-off location.
2. Tap ‘Continue’.
3. Tap your payment method icon in the bottom right corner of the screen.
4. Select your payment option or add another card.

Ratings enable us to ensure both our riders and drivers are having a great experience using Ola. You’ll always be prompted to rate your driver after you take a ride with us. Once you reach your destination, a notification will appear that will prompt you to rate your driver.

• You’ll be able to rate your ride from 1 to 5 stars.
• Select certain fields about the ride and provide specific details.

Ola operates across most major cities in Australia, however, we are bound by certain coverage areas that we are not live in yet.

These areas will change over time as we grow our presence across Australia. If you enter a pick-up or drop-off location in your app that is outside these areas, you won’t be able to confirm your booking.

Ola operates across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra and Gold Coast.

You can definitely take a ride in a city you didn’t sign up in, as long as Ola operates in that city.

Riding with Ola is a great way to see the city you are visiting from a locals point of view as our drivers generally know a lot about the place you are visiting.

If your driver did not pick you up because you had too much luggage for their car. You will not be eligible for a cancellation fee as it is a safety risk to have unsecured luggage anywhere else except in the boot of the car.

If you are travelling with a lot of pieces of luggage, opt to book for a SUV as these have more space to carry your luggage.

We have different types of cars to fit your travel needs. Select your car type on the main screen before entering your pick-up and drop-off destination.

• Prime (Standard)
  Up to 4 people
• SUV (Large)
  Up to 6 people

While you can’t request a specific model car or driver, you can select a car between our two different types that are available to book.

Our Prime (Standard) cars comfortably fit up to 4 people, they are the perfect option to choose when you are riding solo or out with a small group.
Our SUV (Large) cars fit up to 6 people and great for when you need a little extra room for luggage or loved ones.

You can only request one ride at a time. You can request another vehicle immediately after your current ride ends.

Ola offers car types for large groups, instead of booking one ride after the other. Opt for booking an SUV vehicle that fits up to 6 people.

Riding with friends in large groups is the perfect time to start inviting your friends to Ola. Tap the ‘Refer & Earn’ section in your app and share your referral code to earn yourself a free ride*

At the moment we don’t offer a shared ride service, we are currently working on some really exciting things and this may be one of them. Stay tuned!

To view our rates, view the Rate Card option available in the app menu. You will be able to view fares for Ola rides in different cities there.

When you create an Ola account, update your payment method or request a ride you may see a pending transaction on your account. This isn’t an extra charge, but a temporary authorisation hold to check that a valid payment method is being used. These will usually appear when you are using Ola for the first time or if you are adding a new payment method. These charges will appear as pending, however they will never be processed and this may take a couple of days for your bank to remove them.

This isn’t an extra charge, but a temporary authorisation holds to check a valid payment method is being used. These holds will usually appear when you are using Ola for the first time or if you are adding a new payment method. Pre-authorisation charges are immediately voided by Ola, but may take a couple of days for your bank to remove them.

Toll Fees
The final fare you see in the app includes applicable toll fees that you will take on your route. These prices are based on the electronic toll system. All flat fare final costs will exclude tolls.

Booking Fees
The final fare you see in the app includes your booking fee. The price you will see is 55c and this is added to each ride.

To compensate your driver for their time and effort, we’ll apply a cancellation fee of up to $10 in instances when the ride is cancelled outside of the Free Cancellation Time Period. For further information, please see the Ola Customer Terms and Conditions.

Any valid offer or promotions on your account will automatically appear in the notifications section in your app.

All you need to do is: Tap ‘Apply Coupon’ in the ‘book your ride’ section and the offer will be applied to your ride.

If you think you were wrongly charged a fee, we’d be happy to help.

Simply open your Ola app and access the ‘Your rides’ tab.

• Open the Ola app
• Tap the ‘Your Rides’ option
• Select the ride with the fee
• Select ‘Billing Related’
• Then select your issue

If you would like to tell us more about your problem, select ‘Write to Us’. We’ll ask for a brief description of what happened

You can pay for your Ola ride using your credit/debit card. You will need to add your chosen card to your Ola account to pay for the ride.

Follow the steps below to add your credit/debit card to your Ola account.

• Select Payments from the Ola app menu.
• Click on Add a Credit/ Debit card.
• Enter your card details and click Save Card.

Once you have successfully added your card, all you need to do is to select the card from the ‘Pick a Payment’ option before confirming a booking.

Ola is an entirely cash free experience. Book your ride at the ease of your app and when your trip ends, your chosen payment method will be charged. Easy as that!

You can pay for your Ola ride using PayPal.
Simply, tap ‘Payments’ on the main menu on the app and tap ‘Add PayPal’. You will then be redirected to the PayPal website where you can enter your details.

A pre-authorisation hold is the term commonly used by banks in situations where a customer purchases services or goods using a credit/debit card, or a digital wallet (e.g. PayPal) and an amount is held by the customer’s bank on behalf of the merchant as a ‘pre-authorised hold’. These funds are merely placed “on hold” and no money is debited from the customer’s account until the transaction is completed and final payment is processed. 

To understand how pre-authorisations work with your Ola rides, read HERE

To sign up with Ola, simply download the app and enter your details on the app. The below fields are what you will be asked to enter in order to sign up.

• Mobile number
• Name
• Email address
• Enter your friend’s referral code if they have referred you to Ola
• Payment details

The refer a friend program is a way to reward you for inviting friends to Ola.

All you need to do is share your unique referral code with a friend and when they take their first ride, you’ll both earn a $20 ride credit to use in Australia.

Add emergency contacts, by tapping on your name in the app menu and following the steps below:

• Tap on Emergency Contacts
• Tap on Add Contacts to select up to 5 contacts

Once you have added an emergency contact, you can choose to share your ride details with them every time you ride. You can toggle this feature on or off anytime.

In case of an emergency, you can raise an alert from your app. The SOS button in your app is visible throughout your whole ride.

• Tap the SOS button in the app and tap on the Get Help option to alert our safety response team in real-time of any concerns.
• Our response team will immediately get in touch with you and the driver.
• You can also choose to alert your emergency contacts or call the police in case of immediate danger when you press the SOS button.