Transportation app Ola today launched e-rickshaw category on its platform that will enable the users to book rides on the electric vehicle in Delhi-NCR region.
The service will be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi later in the day as part of 'Stand-Up India' initiative, which aimed at promoting entrepreneurship.
"A total of 5,100 Ola e-rickshaws will be launched in partnership with Bhartiya Micro Credit (BMC) at the event and will be deployed across Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad. This will be further scaled up in the coming months to more small towns and Tier III cities," Ola Chief Operating Officer Pranay Jivrajka told reporters here.
The company will charge a 10 per cent commission from the rickshaw pedallers. It will, however, not charge any convenience fee from users as is the case with auto-rickshaws.
While the fare will differ city to city, users will have to pay Rs 25 for two km and Rs 8 per km for the following distance. They can pay cash or using Ola Money, the company's wallet service.
"We will soon launch ride sharing options, which will bring down the cost," he said without disclosing a timeline.
Estimates suggest there are five million rickshaw pedallers in the country.
With over 60 per cent of the India's population residing in small towns, Ola aims to strengthen mobility in these towns with the e-rickshaw initiative, he added.
"Citizens in these cities and towns currently suffer from lack of convenient and reliable mobility options, especially for short distances. E-rickshaws are an affordable and greener alternative in these cities that can serve mobility needs unique to these small towns and cities in India," he said.
Apart from financial support for procuring e-rickshaws, Ola and BMC will also set up and run skill development centres in these towns to enable continuous skilling and training for thousands of rickshaw driver-entrepreneurs.
Ola already has about 80,000 auto-rickshaws and 3.5 lakh cabs on its platform.
Besides, digital payments company FreeCharge has also come on board as a partner. It will enable customers to connect and pay via chat with e-Rickshaw drivers as part of its chat-n-pay service.
"The drivers can register as a merchant at zero investment, on the Chat-n-Pay platform by simply adding their banking details. For consumers and drivers, Chat-n-Pay will help eliminate the hassle of managing and arranging change and will further offer convenience to pay on-the-go in a seamless and secure manner," Govind Rajan, Chief Operating Officer, FreeCharge said.
Speaking on the initiative, Kiran Brahma, Regional
Business Head at Ola , said, " Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is essential to our driver-partners' overall well-being and performance. In addition to increasing their productivity and efficiency, it reduces their risk of exposure to health hazards and substantially improves their quality of life. Through the 'We Care, We Share' campaign, we want to stress on the importance of health and personal well-being to our driver-partners and their families." He further added, "Education and awareness around periodic health check-ups is essential for our driver-partners to stay fit and grow professionally on the platform as entrepreneurs. As India's leading mobility platform, it is our endeavour to promote healthy living and safe driving, as we advance on our mission of building mobility for a billion Indians."
"We are happy to associate with Ola in this wonderful initiative to promote healthy living for driver-partners, who are constantly on the move and need to monitor their health at regular intervals. Ola's 'We Care, We Share' campaign is laudable, as it emphasises health as a key priority for their partner's well-being. We are proud to partner with Ola, in this initiative of driving 'healthy living' amongst their partners, by organizing periodic check-ups, medical kits and custom information material, through our team of well qualified doctors," said Dr. Ketan Apte, Unit Head, Sahyadri Hospital Nagar Road .
Since inception, Ola has focused on building a holistic ecosystem for its driver partners, professionally as well as personally, allowing them to grow as entrepreneurs. In the past, Ola has partnered with Lenskart for free eye-checkup camps for its driver-partners, and Neev Finance to provide easy school education for their children.
Ola has also tied-up with Mahindra First Choice Services
(MFCS) to offer discounted car maintenance services at over 79 workshops pan India.
About Ola:
Founded in Jan 2011 by IIT Bombay alumni Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, Ola (formerly Olacabs), is India's most popular mobile app for personal transportation. Ola integrates city transportation for customers and driver-partners onto a mobile technology platform ensuring convenient, transparent and quick service fulfillment. Ola is committed to its mission of building mobility for a billion people. Using the Ola mobile app, users across 102 cities can book from over 450,000 cabs and 120,000 auto-rickshaws and taxis. Ola has also introduced a range of shared mobility services on its platform like Ola Shuttle and Ola Share for commute and ride-sharing respectively. The app is available on Windows, Android and iOS platforms. In early 2015, Ola acquired TaxiForSure, India's second largest cab aggregator, which continues to operate as an independent brand. Please visit http://www.Olacabs.Com for more information.
Media contact:
Surabhi Patodia
Surabhi.Patodia@olacabs.Com
+91-9741277703
ANI Technologies
Photo: http://photos.Prnewswire.Com/prnh/20160805/395932 Source: Ola.
