PM Modi to Launch India’s First Online E-rickshaws on the Ola App as Part of the ‘Stand Up India’ Initiative

Ola, India’s most popular mobile app for transportation, today announced the introduction of electric-rickshaws, popularly known as E-rickshaws, on its mobile app, enabling reliable mobility in smaller towns and cities.

The first Ola E-rickshaw shall be booked on the Ola mobile application later today, by Shri Narendra Modi, Honourable Prime Minister of India, at the launch of ‘Stand-Up India’ initiative aimed 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 3 cities across the country.

With over 60 percent of the India’s population residing in small towns across the country, Ola, with its E-Rickshaw initiative aims to strengthen mobility in these towns, using technology that is convenient for both driver-partners and customers. 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.

Speaking on the occasion, Pranay Jivrajka, Chief Operating Officer at Ola said, “It’s an honour to support PM Modi’s ‘Stand-up India’ initiative aimed at empowering thousands of e-rickshaw driver-partners, with innovative micro-entrepreneurship solutions and technology platform. Economic growth, rapid urbanization and environmental concerns are driving the need for innovative mobility solutions across the country. The transportation needs of users in smaller towns and sustainable alternatives for cycle rickshaw pedallers will be solved for with the introduction of e-rickshaws on the Ola app, which are affordable, environment friendly and convenient to hail. We believe this will touch the lives of hundreds of millions of citizens as well as the livelihoods of millions of driver entrepreneurs, taking us closer to our mission of mobility for a billion people.”

Ola’s E-rickshaws will give existing rickshaw pullers, the opportunity to enhance their skills and become driver-entrepreneurs and access to consistent demand through the Ola app on their smartphones. These green, affordable and sustainable vehicles involve lower human effort compared to pulled rickshaws, giving rickshaw driver-entrepreneurs a chance to become an integral part of Ola’s plan to enable mobility for a billion people.

Apart from employment, Ola and BMC will also set up and run skill development centers in these towns to enable continuous skilling and training for thousands of rickshaw driver-entrepreneurs. Through the smart and easy-to-use Ola app, rickshaw driver-entrepreneurs and customers can leverage the convenience of technology and participate in the country’s digital revolution.

Shri Mahesh Sharma, Hon’ble MoS, Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, said, “The Government is committed to enabling better livelihoods through high impact skilling initiatives and opportunity creation. E-rickshaws are not only sustainable, but also a simple, yet very effective solution to an otherwise physically taxing pedal rickshaw riding. It’s heartening to see young entrepreneurs like Bhavish take interest and develop innovative solutions to solve India’s real problems and create a transformation in the lives of drivers, helping them become entrepreneurs. With Ola’s technology and BMC’s support, we are confident that many cycle rickshaw-pullers will grow into e-rickshaw driver-entrepreneurs, addressing the mobility needs of this country.”

Ola’s range of mobility offerings has expanded across different price points and use cases over the recent months viz. ultra affordable Ola Micro, flagship Ola Mini and premium Wifi enabled Ola Prime. Ola Share, India's first social ride-sharing solution and Ola Shuttle, a daily commute solution from the same app, further serve the mobility needs of millions of users every day.

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 transportation. Ola integrates city transportation for customers and driver partners onto a mobile technology platform ensuring convenient, transparent and quick service fulfilment. 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 350,000 cabs and 80,000 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  www.olacabs.com for more information.