Product Review — Loca Rides

As someone who relies on public transportation and cab services to travel around the city, it is something that gives me major anxiety! The poor organization and quality of public transportation in India has enabled a plethora of apps such as Uber, Ola, Rapido, etc. to flourish and provide alternate platforms to avail transportation. However, these apps come with a host of their own problems in Bangalore — long waiting times, surge pricing and sometimes the lack availability at a given time.

To solve this problem, Loca Rides is yet another ride sharing app in the mix. Loca operates shared cabs that will pick up/drop you from points near your home/office to major points in the neighborhood such as Metro stations or bus stops.

Pros:

1. The stops for Loca Rides are fixed. This means that the driver does not waste time while picking up the passengers. Moreover, the stops are generally 1–2 min walk from your residence.
2. It is affordable. The pricing is generally between Rs 15- 30 per ride.
3. Since the cabs make rounds every 15 minutes or so, the waiting time is very less. A rider generally gets a cab within 5 minutes of booking.

Cons:

1. Loca is supposed to have pick up and drop points at major locations in the neighborhood but they currently only offer their services to and from Metro stations. Further, they are only fully functioning at 6 out of the 30+ metro stations in Bangalore.
2. They don’t have the option to pay in cash. You have to load your Loca wallet before booking a cab. In addition, they don’t have the option to refund your money in case you decide to stop using the app.
3. You have to share the ride with 1–3 passengers. So, it might take you 10–15 minutes more than usual to reach the Metro station.