INDIAN CAB BRAND, OLA, DEPLOYS BOATS IN WATER-LOGGED CHENNAI FOR FERRYING CITIZENS TO SAFER AREAS

Also to distribute food and drinking water in areas short of supplies.
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Tamil Nadu, the southern state of India, is severely affected by heavy rains and cyclone for the past few days. The situation got worse with the state capital, Chennai, facing its worst calamity till date. The entire city was flooded and thousands of citizens were left stranded for hours and the entire public transport system in the city was disrupted.

Living up to the promise of being a ‘complete transportation provider’, India’s larger cab operator Ola immediately sprung in to action. What is interesting, however, is that this action came as an immediate response to a meme posted on Twitter by a customer. Keeping the ‘typical Chennai humour’ alive, one consumer tweeted about how Ola should have boats to save the people who are affected. The brand, and its Bangalore based agency Happy Creative Services, immediately worked out a plan to implement this suggestion. Within 24 hours, multiple fishermen and their boats were in action and the rescue operation continues even now.

In a bid to help transport citizens stranded due to water logging in the city of Chennai, Ola, India’s most popular mobile app for personal transportation, today deployed boats in water logged and partially submerged areas, basis information provided by the Fire and Rescue Department of Tamil Nadu. The boats manned by professional rowers and fishermen, will also be used to provide food and drinking water in specific areas which are reportedly short of basic supplies. Both ferrying services and supplies will be offered free of cost to citizens.

Each boat will be manned by two rowers and can ferry anywhere between five to nine people in a single attempt. Ola is also providing rain gear to all rowers, which will help them ferry people without any hassles. In order to guard customers from rain, Ola has also stocked umbrellas in every boat. Details of the rowers and fishermen were provided to Ola by local firemen and the Chennai Sport Fishing Company.  These services are expected to be available over the next three days and might get extended if water-logging continues in the city. Many employees and drivers of Ola are also coordinating with the fishermen on ground to enable smooth operations.
Ravi Teja, Business Head of Tamil Nadu at Ola said, “Thousands of citizens have been stranded and are suffering due to heavy rains and water logging in Chennai. While we are addressing the increased demand for transportation in the city through the Ola app, we are working closely with local stakeholders to help ferry those stranded in water logged areas. Boats deployed by Ola will help ferry people to safer areas and in distribution of essential supplies like food and drinking water in affected areas.”

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 fulfilment. Ola is committed to its mission of building mobility for a billion people. Using the Ola mobile app, users across 102 cities can book from over 250,000 cabs, 75,000 auto rickshaws, Kaali Peeli taxis and yellow taxis on its platform. The app is available on Windows, Android and iOS platforms. Ola recently acquired TaxiForSure, India’s second largest cab aggregator, which continues to operate as an independent brand. Please visit www.olacabs.com for more information.