Over the past few years, Ola and Uber have taken the world by a storm. In India, these app-based cab aggregators are present almost in every major city now. For those that were forced to buy their own vehicle or deal with rude taxi drivers, these apps have been an absolute blessing.
On the other hand, Ola and Uber have also provided a great source of livelihood for many individuals. There are reports of Uber drivers who make over ₹90,000 every month just by driving their cars using the app.
The benefits are numerous: you get to be your own boss, the payment is always on time, and you decide your own working hours.
As a result, a lot of young professionals have now taken to driving an Ola or an Uber part-time for extra money. The best part of this is that you get to travel and see your own city while also making money on the side.
Moreover, there is always the chance of meeting and networking with some cool interesting people.
A person would need to purchase a car and register is as a “tourist” taxi in order to be eligible to drive an Uber or Ola. This usually refers to a car that bears yellow colored (or “commercial”) license plates in India. Over the past year, both Ola and Uber have introduced interesting financing and EMI schemes to allow people to own their car and drive it on the app network without having to make an upfront payment.
Now, there are many different models of cars that you can purchase specifically for driving on Ola or Uber. However, bear in mind that both these app aggregators have a list of pre-approved models that you need to have in order to drive on their network. Moreover, the type of car will depend on the category you wish to drive in.
For instance, an Uber SUV will require you to have a big sports utility vehicle whereas on UberGo you can easily drive a hatchback.
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Here’s a List of the cars for a taxi cab in India for Uber or Ola:
1. Toyota Innova Crysta
Specifications:
- Mileage (ARAI) kmpl: 10.75 kmpl
- Fuel Type: Petrol
- Engine Displacement: 2694 cc
- Power: 164 bhp @ 5200 RPM
- Torque: 245 Nm @ 4000 RPM
- Engine Description: 2.7-litre 163.7bhp 16V 2-TR-FE Dual VVT-i Engine
- No. of Cylinders: 4
Toyota Innova Crysta Review, Price In India & Customer Experiences
2. Maruti Suzuki Wagon R
Specifications:
- Mileage : 20.51 kmpl
- Engine Displ. : 998 cc
- Transmission : Manual
- Fuel Type : Petrol
- Boot Space : 180-liters
- Power Windows : Front and Rear
- Airbags : Driver and Passenger
- ABS : Yes
- Central Locking : Yes
- Fog Lamp : Front
Maruti Suzuki Wagon R Review, Price In India & Customer Experiences
3. Honda Amaze
Specifications:
- Mileage : 19.5 kmpl
- Engine Displ. : 1199 cc
- Transmission : Manual
- Fuel Type : Petrol
- Boot Space : 420Liters
- Power Windows : Front and Rear
- Airbags : Driver and Passenger
- ABS : Yes
- Central Locking : No
- Fog Lamps : No
Honda Amaze Review, Price In India & Customer Experiences
4. Hyundai Xcent
Specifications:
- Mileage : 18 kmpl
- Engine Displ. : 1197 cc
- Transmission : Manual
- Fuel Type : Petrol
- Boot Space : 407-litres
- Power Windows : Front and Rear
- Airbags : NA
- ABS : Yes
- Central Locking : Yes
- Fog Lamps : Front
- Child Safety Lock : Yes
- Adjustable headlamps : NA
- Gear Shift Indicator : No
Hyundai Xcent Review, Price In India & Customer Experiences
5. Maruti Alto 800
Specifications:
- Mileage : 24.7 kmpl
- Engine Displ. : 796 cc
- Transmission : Manual
- Fuel Type : Petrol
- Boot Space : 177-litres
- Power Windows : No
- Airbags : NA
- ABS : No
- Central Locking : No
- Fog Lamps : No
- Child Safety Lock : No
- Adjustable headlamps : NA
- Gear Shift Indicator : No
Maruti Alto 800 Review, Price In India & Customer Experiences
6. Maruti Suzuki Swift
Specifications:
- Mileage : 22 kmpl
- Engine Displ. : 1197 cc
- Transmission : Manual
- Fuel Type : Petrol
- Boot Space : 268 Liters
- Power Windows : No
- Airbags : Driver and Passenger
- ABS : Yes
- Central Locking : No
- Fog Lamps : No
Maruti Suzuki Swift Review, Price In India & Customer Experiences
7. Maruti Suzuki Dzire 
Specification:
- Mileage : 22 kmpl
- Engine Displ. : 1197 cc
- Transmission : Manual
- Fuel Type : Petrol
- Boot Space : 378-liters
- Power Windows : Front and Rear
- Airbags : Driver and Passenger
- ABS : Yes
- Central Locking : Yes
- Fog Lamps : No
Maruti Suzuki Dzire Review, Price In India & Customer Experiences
8. Maruti Suzuki Ciaz
Specifications:
- Mileage : 21.56 kmpl
- Engine Displ. : 1462 cc
- Transmission : Manual
- Fuel Type : Petrol
- Boot Space : 510-litres
- Power Windows : Front and Rear
- Airbags : Driver and Passenger
- ABS : Yes
- Central Locking : Yes
- Fog Lamps : No
Maruti Suzuki Ciaz Review, Price In India & Customer Experiences
9. Hyundai Elite-i20 
Specifications:
- Mileage : 18.6 kmpl
- Engine Displ. : 1197 cc
- Transmission : Manual
- Fuel Type : Petrol
- Boot Space : 285-litres
- Power Windows : Front
- Airbags : Driver and Passenger
- ABS : Yes
- Central Locking : Yes
- Fog Lamps : No
This was the most stylish premium hatchback. It had almost no major competitor till the entry of the Maruti Suzuki baleno. It’s not typically fun to drive neither is it a luxury limousine. In fact, it is a beautiful combination of drivability, practicality, style and luxury. This is the second most famous car in the segment and its market share is 35.96%.
It comes with a petrol 1197cc and a diesel 1396 cc engine. Its available within a price range of 5.5 to 9.31 lakh. The fuel efficiency is 18.6 kmpl for Petrol and 22.54 kmpl for diesel.
The diesel engine is the same as the previous one and comes with a 6-speed manual option. The petrol manual is also retaining the same old configurations and is slightly retuned for more power at lower rpm. Both the petrol and diesel models are good for city drive and highway usage.
If you like linear and smooth performance, then “sportz plus” petrol should be your pick. Otherwise the “magna plus” diesel engine is more fuel efficient. It’s not typically a “driver’s” car but it hits all the right boxes of comfort practicality and a linear power delivery.
Also, a crossover version of this car is available under the name i20 active.
Being priced a bit high, this car is not really the best for cab usage. The fleet owners would prefer buying something like the Xcent in the same price range. Elite i20 is a premium hatchback and a majority of the owners are personal car buyers.
Hyundai Elite-i20 Review, Price In India & Customer Experiences
10. Hyundai EON
Specifications:
- Mileage : 21.1 kmpl
- Engine Displ. : 814 cc
- Transmission : Manual Fuel
- Type : Petrol
- Boot Space : 215-litres
- Power Windows : No
- Airbags : NA
- ABS : No
- Central Locking : No
- Fog Lamps : No
- Child Safety Lock : Yes
- Adjustable headlamps : NA
- Gear Shift Indicator : Yes
Hyundai EON Review, Price In India & Customer Experiences
Also Check: 10 Best Car Manufacturers in India for 2018 You Need To Know
Conclusion:
When taking a car, remember to pick based on what category you wish to drive that car in. For instance, the cars on UberX are always sedans but the number of people requesting an UberGo tends to be much higher. As a result, you can save that money and purchase a smaller car especially if you wish to drive it with UberGo or Ola Micro.
Also remember to keep all your paperwork in order when driving your car on these app-based taxi networks. With increasing protests by taxi unions, the police everywhere have gotten stricter with app-based cab networks so its always better to be careful.
Happy driving!