When it comes to cab culture, India is considered as a hotbed and companies like Ola, Uber never fail to create buzz. When Uber is in the news today for its fresh investment in India, its rival cab aggregator Ola taking a new initiative and set to launch Ola Zones in 12 Railway stations of Bengaluru and nearby areas.
Ola has tied up with South Western Railway to provide last mile connectivity for daily commuters in of the crowded metro city in India.
The association with South Western Railway is for the next 3 years and Ola Zones will cover stations like Majestic, Bangalore Cantonment, Yesvantpur, Krishnarajapuram, Yelahanka, Kengeri, Hebbal, Bangalore East, Banaswadi, Whitefield, Byappanahalli, and Malleswaramin the city.
As per the report, the 'Ola Zones' will work as a pickup and drop off point for customers where Ola vehicles will also, be allotted dedicated parking spots. The partnership will ensure an expected time of arrival (ETA) of cabs that is as low as two minutes.
Vishal Kaul, Chief Operating Officer Ola said, "We are excited to join hands with South Western Railway to build a convenient mobility experience for lakhs of commuters across the 12 key railway stations in Bengaluru City. Over the last one year at Ola, we have been integrating our smart mobility solutions with key public service utilities to ensure last mile connectivity along with, building mobility solutions that cater to the diverse needs of consumers. Railway stations form a critical part of city's transport ecosystem and our association with South Western Railway is an important step in this direction."
Ola had recently partnered with Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited to equip key metro stations with dedicated Ola Kiosks.
Of late, Ola has aggressively been partnering with government across different states on varied fronts. Last month, the company along with Mahindra partnered with government of Maharashtra for building Nagpur into electric an electric mass mobility ecosystem in the orange city.
It already invested upwards of Rs 50 crore towards EVs and charging infrastructure in the city. The cab hailing app entered into partnership with Andhra Pradesh government to boost intercity and intra-city transportation services across the state. Ola will also create 25,000 job opportunities in the state, encouraging entrepreneurship and sustainable income for the youth over the next five years.