Cab-hailing service Ola launched a lightweight version of its popular app called Ola Lite on December 21.
The app is optimised to work even in areas with the lowest Internet connectivity and is targeted at consumers in smaller Indian cities and towns (tier II and tier III cities) where the Internet connectivity is relatively low.
The Ola Lite app is currently available for download on Google Play Store.
The new Ola Lite app occupies less than 1MB space and loads within 3 seconds without compromising on the booking experience, Ola said in a blog post.
With the Lite version of the main app, Ola joins the likes of companies like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Flipkart which offer similar lighter versions of their apps.
"As the first in the industry to launch the Lite app, Ola fuels its focus on solving accessibility challenges in the emerging towns and cities of the country," Ola said.
The Bengaluru-headquartered taxi-hailing company, which is locked in an intense battle with its main rival — US-based Uber — for leadership in the Indian market, has already introduced many features like offline booking.
"Our solutions such as Progressive Web App and Offline Booking tackling similar challenges have already set the tone for our sharper focus on emerging cities and towns," Rajiv Thondanoor, Vice-President Product Management, Ola said.
"Lite now presents a unique opportunity to cater to the transportation needs of millions of more Indians residing in these parts of the country" he added.
