Ola acquired Ridlr to expand the business to face Uber

Ola acquired Ridlr in an effort to expand the public transport business that has become an important battleground in fight against Uber. The largest cab-hailing company in India, ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd., has acquired transportation information provider, Birds Eye Systems Pvt. Ltd., which involves cash and stock for an unspecified amount.

Ola plans to add bus, metro and train ticket reservations on the platform and try and become an urban transportation hub for customers Uber is hard to pursue. Ridlr's team of 64 employees including founder Brijraj Vaghani will join Ola.

"Public transportation serves millions of Indians every day, and powering these needs with real-time information, mobile ticketing, cashless payments, and reliable services is bound to impact their end-experience," says Ola co-founder and CEO, Bhavish Aggarwal.

"The challenge really is to make the entire ecosystem inclusive and robust for all. Ridlr, in a short span, has made huge strides in this space, and this latest acquisition lends muscle to our efforts in making transportation a far more holistic service," Aggarwal said.

Ridlr founded in 2012 in Mumbai has raised US$8 million. The final funding round was in July 2016 involving the Internet Times, Matrix Partners and Qualcomm Ventures. Ridlr provides data on bus and rail routes including prices in 19 cities that allow users to book tickets for public transport services and real-time traffic information.