Ola launches Auto services in Thane

Along with Thane, Ola’s Auto service is now available in 6 cities in Maharashtra, and 72 cities across the country.

Being a Thane resident himself, Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and National Vice President of the Bharatiya Janta Party has taken special efforts to introduce this service for Thane residents, an offical released said.

The service was inaugurated by him at an event held in the city on Thursday.

This is the first time that Ola is launching its auto-rickshaw service in the MMRDA region. Commuters in Thane will now be able to board auto-rickshaws right from their door step, by booking from the ‘Auto’ category on the Ola app.

Ola Autos will be available in Thane at just Rs. 12 per kilometer with a base fare of Rs. 18 for 1.5 kilometers and a convenience fee of Rs 15. With an assurance of traveling at metered-fares, customers stand to get a consistent experience on every ride.

Customers can track their rides on the Ola app and also share their ride details in real-time on a live map with friends and family. Additionally, they will also get a system-generated bill immediately on completion over SMS.

On this occasion,  Vinay Sahasrabuddhe said, “Hon. Prime Minister has envisioned a dream of Digital India. Now Thane has been included in the list of Smart Cities' Project. Looking at the digital revolution, the auto reservation, auto journey tracking, bill payment, etc are now available on a mobile phone and this helps a lot. The success of the digital revolution lies in the convenience people experience in their day-to-day lives. We hope to see Ola providing a great and quality based auto service to Thane residents.”

“After Thane, other rickshaw unions should take initiative to start such service in Mumbai as well,” he appealed.

Bharatiya Janta Riksha Chalak Malak Sanghatana, led by Sanjay Waghule, has supported the initiative.

Sundeep Sahni, Vice President, New Initiatives at Ola said, “We are excited to introduce Thane Auto-rickshaws onto the Ola app. This will create better livelihood opportunities for driver-partners giving them access to consistent demand and better revenue throughout the day.”

He further added, “Ola is an inclusive growth platform and is committed to supporting all forms of transportation in its mission to build mobility for a billion people. We are currently the largest aggregator of auto-rickshaws in the country and aim to connect more regions like Thane for improved access to smart mobility.”

Ola provides ample opportunities to its driver-partners to earn and grow on the platform. Drivers across the country, have witnessed a reduction of at least 35% in their idle time, and 22% on fuel costs which was otherwise wasted over looking for potential customers.

Additionally, the Ola app for auto-drivers is available in 8 languages namely English, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu, making it extremely convenient and user friendly for local drivers to use. Every auto driver-partner on the Ola app goes through a KYC verification and training across behavioral, etiquette and technology to make the ride experience seamless for customers.

Ola has over 120,000 auto rickshaws registered on its platform across 72 cities and plans to launch in more cities in the coming months.