Ola Sets Up an Industry-First ‘Safety Council’

A first for the ride-sharing industry globally, Ola’s Safety Council to work towards strengthening safety of the mobility ecosystem in the country

• Safety Council to act as a catalyst towards supporting the Government’s agenda to halve the road deaths and injuries by 2020

• Council to adopt a multi-functional approach and galvanise public private partnerships along the five pillars of the ‘United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety’

• Council to lend support to THREE key targets by 2020 i.e. eye check-ups, gender sensitisation training both, targeted at 1 million driver partners. In-addition, first responder training certification for 1 lakh driver partners

National, 25th April 2018: As a part of its continuous endeavour of creating a robust mobility ecosystem, Ola, India’s leading and one of the world’s largest ride-sharing companies has set up a first-of-its-kind, Safety Council. Bringing together organisations and individual achievers from various sectors viz. urban transport, climate change, women’s safety, security management, traffic management, and emergency management services, Ola’s Safety Council would be a first for the ride-sharing industry, globally.

Aligned on the vision to create a safe, inclusive, and sustainable mobility by building and maintaining safety of the mobility ecosystem, Ola Safety Council will bring together members’ knowledge, data, technology, and local networks and will focus on areas that will make the greatest impact. The council will also work alongside policy makers, state transport authorities, traffic police departments, and other relevant stakeholders to create solutions that enhance ride and road safety on Ola as well as the ecosystem at large.

Member Organisations:

1) Indian Road Safety Campaign, road safety arm of Solve, represented by Amar Srivastava, Founder-President

2) Centre for Social Research, represented by Dr. Ranjana Kumari, Director

Individual Members:

1) Dr. OP Agarwal, Head – World Resources Institute (WRI), India

2) Dr. Parvinder Singh Pasricha, IPS (Retd.), Former Director General of Police, Maharashtra

3) Dr. GV Ramana Rao, Director – GVK EMRI, Emergency Medicine Learning Centre (EMLC) & Research

Speaking on the formation of Safety Council, Mr Nitesh Prakash, Sr Director, Operations at Ola said, “Ola as a safety first organisation, is proud to partner with eminent experts who have done exceptional work in public safety. Given the rich experience of safety experts backed by Ola’s tech prowess and country wide reach, the industry first Council will further strengthen the mobility safety ecosystem in the country. The intent is to galvanize public-private partnerships through multi-stakeholder approach, bringing in measurable impact.”

The safety council will adopt a multi-functional approach work along the five pillars. These include:

(1) Strengthened road safety management capacities

(2) Improved safety of road infrastructure and broader transport networks

(3) Enhanced safety of vehicles

(4) Improved behaviour of road users

(5) Improved post-crash care

These pillars have been adopted from the ‘United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety’.

Dr. GV Ramana Rao, Director – GVK EMRI, Emergency Medicine Learning Centre (EMLC)  & Research and Ola’s Safety Council Member said, “Ola, being a home-grown ride-sharing company with an extensive network of 10 lakh+ driver-partners and presence in 110+ cities, is well positioned to play a pivotal role in supporting the government’s vision for enhanced road safety. Every Ola driver partner can be a ‘Good Samaritan’ and ‘first responder’ in post-crash situation, if needed.”

Dr. OP Agarwal, Head – WRI India and Ola Safety Council member said, “WRI has been working closely with Ola over the past few years. We have jointly explored the possibilities and impact Ola’s flagship product, Ola Share, has had in bringing down the traffic congestion and vehicular pollution levels significantly in India. As a Safety Council member, I look forward to collaborate with them for several sustainable initiatives that will help improve the mobility ecosystem in a holistic manner.”

Amar Srivastava, Founder and President, Solve, and Ola’s Safety Council Member said, “The socio-economic consequences of road accidents are an estimated $58 billion, 3% of India’s GDP. Not to mention the rehabilitation costs and the emotional toll this takes on the society. The council is currently working on a series of concrete measures that we plan to announce in the coming year and Solve’s Road Safety arm, Indian Road Safety Campaign (IRSC), is looking forward to partnering with Ola on these measures. Since IRSC, Solve believes in the power of youth, technology, and collaboration to achieve Vision Zero for India, partnering with an organisation with similar belief would obviously strengthen and scale our efforts towards the same.”

Dr. Parvinder Singh Pasricha, IPS (Retd.), Former Director General of Police, Maharashtra said, “Given the market size and scope for innovation in the ride sharing industry, opportunities and possibilities are endless. Ola enables over two million rides every day and it’s heartening to note that Ola has launched a council to promote safety and instill confidence in the minds of all its users. I am happy to associate with this mission and convey my best wishes for all future endeavours.”

Dr. Ranjana Kumari, Director – Centre for Social Research said, “I am aware of the various initiatives and technical innovations Ola has been developing to boost safety at their platform and I look forward to partnering with them on behalf of the Centre for Social Research to further improve their informed advocacy program. I hope in line with their objective and commitment towards safety and security of women Ola is going to undertake a large scale initiative for training the 10 lac+ drivers and integrate ‘Gender Equity for Gender Transformation’ as their core value.”

In the coming months, the Ola Safety council will work on advancing innovative solutions to accelerate the growth and social impact of road safety tech, leveraging council members insights for best practices in safety for ride-sharing industry and addressing road safety challenges by working with local Government and other key stakeholders.

Notes to Editor

About Brasilia Declaration:

Each year, 1.5 lakh people are killed and 5 lakh injured on Indian roads, highest in the world. The ministry of road transport and highways announced the government’s resolve to reduce the number of road accidents and deaths by half by 2020. The commitment made as a part of the Brasilia declaration, adopted at the second global high-level conference on road safety held in Brazil 2015 by 2200 delegates.  Developed through an intergovernmental process involving consultation with other stakeholders, the Brasilia Declaration is a call to rethink transport policies in order to favour more sustainable modes of transport . It highlights strategies to ensure the safety of all road users, particularly by improving laws and enforcement; making roads safer through infrastructural modifications; ensuring that vehicles are equipped with life-saving technologies; and enhancing emergency trauma care systems. The Brasilia Declaration encourages WHO and partners to facilitate the development of targets to reduce road traffic crashes and fatalities, and support the definition and use of indicators linked to the SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) targets related to road safety.

About Ola:

Founded in 2011 by Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, Ola is one of the world’s largest ride-sharing companies. Ola integrates city transportation for customers and driver-partners onto a mobile technology platform ensuring convenient, transparent, and quick service fulfilment. Ola is focused on leveraging the best of technology and building innovative solutions ground-up, that are relevant at global scale. Notably, in 2016, Ola Play the world’s first connected car platform for ride-sharing was launched, transforming commuting experiences and setting the tone for global innovation in this space. Beyond offering a highly personal experience for users during their rides, Ola Play also allows its partners like Microsoft, Apple Music, Sony Liv amongst others, to build a high quality interactive and productive experience for its users. Using the Ola mobile app, users across 110+ cities can connect with over 1,000,000

driver-partners across cabs, auto-rickshaws, and taxis. Driven by a hyperlocal approach, Ola is committed to its mission of building mobility for a billion people.
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