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Andhra Pradesh Government signs MoU with Ola to boost transportation services and create employment opportunities

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Andhra Pradesh Government signs MoU with Ola to boost transportation services and create employment opportunities

  • Ola to create 25,000 employment opportunities in the state over a period of 5 yearsPresent in 6 cities and connecting 30+ destinations in the state, and plans to expand it further
  • Sets up kiosks for booking rides across key locations in the state        
  • The two entities will also collaborate to provide training to driver partners pertaining to information about the tourist destinations in the state

Vijayawada, 20th June, 2017: Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) is entering into an exclusive partnership with Ola, India’s most popular mobile app for transportation, to boost transportation across the state, with both inter-city and intra-city services, and further promote tourism and mobility ecosystem in the state.

With the newly formed capital of the state – Amaravati, the state has embarked upon a renewed vision for growth and development across industries and sectors. Growth of tourism will play an important role in this, and the Tourism department has undertaken various initiatives to develop Andhra Pradesh as one of India’s leading tourist destinations.

Additionally, Ola will also create 25,000 job opportunities in the state, encouraging entrepreneurship and sustainable income for the youth over next 5 years. With this opportunity to serve millions, Ola’s focus on such initiatives, in tandem with the state, will only grow in the coming months. Ola will provide a wider reach and a better experience to millions of tourists and residents by launching into new cities from existing 6 in next 5 years, providing unique mobility solutions.

The agreement was signed and the first batch of exclusively co-branded Ola and Andhra Pradesh Tourism cars were flagged-off by the Hon’ble Chief Minister, Shri N Chandrababu Naidu, Secretary – Tourism Sri. Mukesh Kumar Meena, CEO-APTA & MD-APTDC Sri. Himanshu Shukla. I.A.S, along with Pranay Jivrajka, Founding Partner, Ola, at the MoU signing ceremony in Amaravati.

Benefits of this Partnership to AP Tourism and the State at large:

  1. Employment opportunities –Creating 12000 + jobs in 3 years and 25,000+ in next 5 years.
  2. Ola expanding its offerings from existing 6 new towns / cities to many more towns in next 5 years across AP.
  3. Provide training to driver partners pertaining to information about the tourist destinations in the state
  4. Significant boost to tourism
    1. New packages around tourist destinations, festivals, and holiday seasons will be created
    2. Ola bookings can be made through AP Tourism counters at airports, railway and bus stations, and Haritha Hotels & Resorts, etc. across the state through a revenue share model
    3. Promotion of Andhra Pradesh Tourism on Ola’s platforms
    4. Enhanced tourism experience through various initiatives. Example – fixed fare packages for critical locations, informed driver partners about popular tourist destinations
    5. Co-creating a comprehensive Skill development program for training individuals to become driver partners and providing employment opportunities at nominal costs

In the coming months, this partnership would also be extended further, bringing additional set of offerings such as electric vehicles, bikes, and Buses in the state based on feasibility and regulatory constraints.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Sri Nara Chandrababu Naidu stated, “Our vision is to make Andhra Pradesh, a model state not just for India but for audiences globally. For this, we are betting heavily on technology-based models across sectors. Partnering with companies such as Ola, that has added a new dimension to transportation in India, is in keeping with this vision. Together, we will be able to provide a reliable commute service to tourists and residents, as well as create job and entrepreneurial opportunities for several thousands.”

Commenting on the partnership, Sri Mukesh Kumar Meena, Secretary to Govt. (Tourism & Culture) said, “Andhra Pradesh has a rich cultural, religious, and historical background. Streamlining transportation and launching a unique offering for tourists and residents will be of significant benefit. The partnership with India’s most popular platform for ridesharing will also help us train thousands of driver partners become entrepreneurs and play a role in enhancing customer experience.“

Speaking about the partnership, Pranay Jivrajka, Founding Partner at Ola said, “We are certain that Andhra Pradesh is soon going to become the benchmark for inclusive growth and development in India. We applaud their commitment to implementing technology-backed solutions across industries and are proud to play a key role and support their tourism initiatives to promote the growth of the sector in the state. Ola’s mobility offerings such as Outstation and Rental solve a very unique problem for tourists and local residents – the need for a reliable and safe commute option to travel for long durations and between cities. Specially curated tourism packages coupled with trained driver partners is sure to provide a valuable service to customers and contribute to the growth of tourism in the state.”

Commenting on the partnership, Sri Himanshu Shukla, CEO-APTA and MD-APTDC said, “This partnership will help both;boosting tourism in the state of Andhra Pradesh and also ]creating employment opportunities in a short period of time. We shall extend our full support to ensure smooth implementation of this partnership and also to bring more offerings under the umbrella. Ola’s commitment to offering locally-relevant mobility solutions will help us in achieving our aspirations of creating large scale employment and also provide a refined experiences to the tourists.”

Additionally, as a part of this partnership, under the ‘Rental’ offering which provides convenient rides based on hourly rates to customers, Ola will create fixed fare packages for key routes in Vijayawada city such as from the airport, the Secretariat, the railway station, and Stalin Corp, among others. Customers will also, have the option to book cabs from Ola kiosks set up at various key locations in the cities mentioned above, for added convenience.  

In the recent years, Andhra Pradesh has emerged as one of the leading states in India that attracts a high number of tourists, both national and international. Andhra Pradesh registered a 20% growth in visitors last year, welcoming around 100 million tourists in the State. Currently, Ola is present in 6 cities in the state (Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Guntur, Rajahmundry, Tirupati, and Nellore),

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 personal transportation. Ola integrates city transportation for customers and driver partners onto a mobile technology platform ensuring convenient, transparent and quick service fulfillment. Ola is committed to its mission of building mobility for a billion people. Using the Ola mobile app, users across 110 cities can book from over 600,000 vehicles across cabs, 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. Please visitwww.olacabs.com/media for more information.

For media queries please contact:

Amit Kumar | media@olacabs.com