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Ola (previously known as Ola Cabs), today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Andhra Pradesh. As per the MoU, Ola will help to bring in technology to support over 50,000 vehicles in the next three years to ensure smart, reliable and safe transportation in the cities of Andhra Pradesh. It’ll also work towards the AP government’s vision of transforming the state into a smart – tourism hub.
Founded in January, 2011 by IIT Bombay alumni, Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, Ola is India’s leading mobile app for personal transportation. The company’s proposed investment of $22.5 Mn (INR 150 Cr) is a step forward in encouraging entrepreneurship among drivers and to create employment opportunities in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
Currently, Ola has 10,000 vehicles on its platform which plans to increase to 50,000 vehicles in the next 3 years. Ola will also be providing free skill-development training programs during this period.
Speaking on the development, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh,Chandrababu Naidu said, “Our vision is to create a smart and modern Andhra Pradesh and technology advancement is going to be extremely important to make this possible.
Transportation is one of the most important areas where technology can make a big difference. Mobile technology driven transportation apps like Ola can play a major role in creating job opportunities for hundreds of thousands in the state as well as in providing timely and efficient transportation for all. We are confident that this tie up will benefit the entire transportation ecosystem in the state.”
Ola has a long history of redefining mobility in Andhra Pradesh. It became the first ever on-demand cab booking app to be launched in the state in 2014. It has a strong presence across 5 major cities in the state including Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Guntur, Rajahmundry and Tirupati.
Investment of similar nature in India is nothing new. About a week ago, Uber had signed a MoU with the Tamil Nadu govt. to create over 30,000 entrepreneurial opportunities for drivers, along with proactive participation to improve tech, as part of the region’s economic development. It had also inked a similar contract with Telangana, India’s newest state to set up its Hyderabad facility, hiring over 5000 people in a span of 5 years.
In lieu of today’s announcement, Ola will be able to counter Uber. Ola claims to have a whopping commanding over 80% of India’s taxi market. Using the Ola app, users over 100 cities in India can book from over 250,000 cabs, 65,000 auto rickshaws, KaaliPeeli taxis and yellow taxis on its platform. Ola also recently acquired TaxiForSure, India’s second largest cab aggregator, which still continues to operate as an independent brand.
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