‘Ola Emergency’ service launched in Chennai for essential medical trips amidst city-wide lockdown
- The service will enable safe transportation for all non-COVID medical trips to and from hospitals
- Cabs will also be available for airport and railway travel needs
Chennai, 18 June 2020: With the city going back into lockdown from June 19,Ola, India’s leading mobility platform and one of the world’s largest ride-hailing companies, has enabled ‘Ola Emergency’ services on its app. The specialised category brings relief and a much-needed mobility solution to citizens who do not have a mode of transport to access a hospital in case of a medical emergency. Starting 19th June, the service will be available in Chennai for all non-COVID related medical trips from home to hospitals and vice versa.
Ensuring convenience and enhanced connectivity, Ola has mapped over 350 hospitals across Chennai into the app and the service will also be available to ferry customers to and from Airports and Railway stations. The company has equipped all driver-partners with hygiene kits, safety equipment and implemented a suite of precautionary and preventive measures.
Strengthening its safety-first approach, Ola has also introduced ‘5 layers of safety’ that include strictly adhering to steps that ensure the highest standards of safety and hygiene for every ride.This includes compulsory mask usage by driver-partners and customers, regular health checks for driver-partners, deep sanitization of cars before rides and mandatory vehicle fumigation every 48 hours at dedicated fumigation centers located around the city. Additionally, a flexible cancellation policy has also been introduced that allows either party to cancel the ride if they feel the other is not following the rules or not wearing a mask.
Anand Subramanian, Spokesperson for Ola,said “Through the initial lockdown period of 75 days, ‘Ola Emergency’ played an instrumental role in ferrying hundreds of thousands of citizens across 20+ cities for their medical needs. Following the new guidelines issued by the Tamil Nadu state Government, we are launching ‘Ola Emergency’ services to enable essential mobility for the people of Chennai while following the highest standards of safety and hygiene.”
He further added, “Our commitment to ensuring a safe and comfortable ride experience is reiterated through our ‘5 layers of safety’. Our network of fumigation centers will ensure strict adherence to vehicle fumigation and enable drivers to have access to masks, sanitizers and disinfectant liquids. We stand by the authorities in serving citizens and in extending our full support in this collective fight against COVID- 19.”
Complying with State government regulations, Ola Emergency cabs will operate with no more than one driver and two passengers. Citizens in need of mobility support can seamlessly book a cab by selecting the ‘Ola Emergency’ category to avail the service.
‘Ola Emergency’ was first launched in Bangalore in April this year and further extended to 20+ cities across India.
About Ola:
Ola is India’s largest mobility platform and one of the world’s largest ride-hailing companies, serving 250+ cities across India, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK including key global markets like London and Sydney. The Ola app offers mobility solutions by connecting customers to drivers and a wide range of vehicles across bikes, auto-rickshaws, metered taxis, and cabs, enabling convenience and transparency for hundreds of millions of consumers and over 2.5 million driver-partners.
Ola’s core mobility offering in India is supplemented by its electric-vehicle arm, Ola Electric and Ola Fleet Technologies, India’s largest fleet management business. With its acquisition of Ridlr, India’s leading public transportation app and investment in Vogo, a dockless scooter sharing solution, Ola is looking to build mobility for the next billion Indians. Ola also extends its consumer offerings like micro-insurance and credit led payments through Ola Financial Services and a range of owned food brands with India’s largest network of cloud kitchens through Ola Foods.
Ola was founded in 2011 by Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati with a mission to build mobility for a billion people.
