Ola launches in London with market-leading safety features and driver support

The platform is fully operational with three categories: Comfort, Comfort XL and Exec ride classes. Ola has over 25,000 drivers registered on the platform, bringing scale to its London offering immediately.

The company will maintain its differentiated focus on drivers, safety and a collaborative approach with local authorities and regulators.

Today, Ola is also pleased to announce three partnerships with established leaders in their respective fields to raise driver standards across the market. Ola has teamed up with DriveTech (Part of the AA), consulting giant Mercer and Pearson in ground breaking initiatives to ensure that Ola riders in London will benefit from the highest standard of driving skills, and driver customer service and communication.

Ola will partner with DriveTech (part of the AA) to use its driving risk assessment to improve the level of driving skills and knowledge of all drivers on the Ola platform in London. Each driver has completed a risk assessment and is given complimentary E-Learning modules to further accelerate their professional development. On completing these modules, they will receive a DriveTech Permit to Drive, attesting to their skills.

Additionally, every Ola driver in London has passed the Versant spoken English test, from education experts Pearson plc, ensuring a high level of communication in English. 

They have also successfully completed Ola’s Customer Service Test, developed with global selection experts Mercer, ensuring they have the skills and mindset to deliver a great experience to their passengers.

London drivers joining the platform will benefit from six weeks of zero commission and market-leading commission rates thereafter, enabling them to keep more of their earnings. Ola’s commission commitment ensures drivers always receive the best commission rate in each market that the company operates in.

Ola will continue its collaborative approach with Transport for London(TfL) and local authorities, as well as its clear focus on safety, drawing on industry-leading and global best practices.

Ola is raising the standards of safety in the UK ride-hailing industry and bringing global best practice to the market. In a number of pioneering moves for the UK, Ola is launching its flagship global safety feature, ‘Guardian’, which uses AI and machine learning to automatically detect irregular vehicle activity, a ‘Start Code’ feature to ensure customers and drivers are correctly matched, 24/7 voice support for riders and drivers, and a cap of six penalty points for drivers on its platform. 

Simon Smith, Head of Ola International, said: “We are thrilled to now be live in London. This is a major milestone for our business and represents the next step in our ambitions to connect people in cities throughout the country. We are proud of the progress Ola has made in the UK and we look forward to building on our success by offering a differentiated service to Londoners, focused on quality, safety and reliability.”