[wheelguy]

• Fund launched under Ola Foundation and will look to help auto-rickshaw, cab, kaali-peeli and taxi drivers and their families who are currently facing restricted income

• Ola Group and employees contribute initial capital of 20 Cr to the fund; Co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal to forgo salary for 1 year

• Launches crowdfunding campaign to allow citizens to contribute to the fund; Intends to raise upto 50 Cr.

National, 27 March, 2020: Two days after the nation-wide lockdown which has left the country’s drivers without any daily income, Ola, one of the world’s largest ride-hailing platform, today announced the launch of ‘Drive the Driver Fund’ under the aegis of its social welfare arm, Ola Foundation. The fund aims to support auto-rickshaw, cab, kaali-peeli and taxi drivers, through contributions from the Ola group, investors and via a crowdfunding platform for citizens and other institutions. The proceeds of the fund will help towards the welfare and upliftment of drivers and their families who have been affected by the restrictions due to the Covid- 19 pandemic.

The mobility industry has been brought to a grinding standstill during these stressed times, and the driver community has been finding it hard to pay for their family expenses without a source of income. Ola’s initiative aims to bring together multiple stakeholders in the ecosystem such as customers, investors and partner organisations to participate in supporting millions of drivers and their families. The Ola group and its employees will contribute 20 crores, while Bhavish Aggarwal, co-founder and CEO, Ola will forgo 1 year’s salary, both of which shall go towards the fund.

This initiative will focus on key areas such as emergency support and essential supplies, which are of utmost importance to drivers during these challenging times. Drivers and their families will also have access to free medical consultation. In due course, Ola Foundation will also take up initiatives to support drivers in areas such as aid for children’s education amongst others.

Elaborating on the measures, Anand Subramanian, Spokesperson and Head of Communications, Ola, said, “The crisis at this time has left thousands of drivers who form the backbone of shared mobility without an income. To support them in this testing time, we are launching the ‘Drive the Driver’ fund which will provide bare-necessities to all driver partners, across auto-rickshaws and kaali peelis in the form of essential supplies and free medical and emergency support. To this effect, the Ola group has come together to contribute the initial capital for the fund, which can be used to provide immediate aid.”

He further added, “Millions of drivers and their families have been affected, and even a humble contribution can have a lasting impact on their wellbeing. We invite all the stakeholders of the mobility industry to join us in every way you can, and support the people who move us in this difficult phase. We will be stronger together.”

Ola has undertaken a number of proactive measures to help its driver-partners and customers through the Coronavirus outbreak. Last week, the company announced a special COVID-19 insurance cover exclusive for their driver partners and their spouses. Additionally Ola fully waived lease rentals, akin to an EMI, for driver partners who operate vehicles owned by Ola’s subsidiary, Ola Fleet Technologies under its leasing program. It has also formed a robust task-force consisting of members from various internal departments to ensure continuous monitoring and 24×7 availability of partner care and safety response teams for any concerns.

To contribute to the Drive the Driver Fund, citizens can log on to https://ola.foundation/donate

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[TusharK]

Ola has donated Rs. 20 crore to the Ola Foundation to support its drivers and their families during the Covid-19 crisis.



Ola co-founder and CEO, Bhavish Agarwal will be donating a year's salary towards the fund. The company is also aiming to raise up to Rs. 50 crore through crowdfunding to help drivers on any platform or services.

Ola will provide free medical consultation, emergency support and essential supplies to drivers. The Ola Foundation will also provide aid for their children's education.

Ola has introduced a special Covid-19 insurance cover for driver partners and their spouses. The company has also waived off lease rentals on vehicles operating under its leasing programme.

Source

Link to Team-BHP News

[mvadg]

Originally Posted by TusharK

Ola has donated Rs. 20 crore to the Ola Foundation to support its drivers and their families during the Covid-19 crisis.

Ola co-founder and CEO, Bhavish Agarwal will be donating a year's salary towards the fund. The company is also aiming to raise up to Rs. 50 crore through crowdfunding to help drivers on any platform or services.

Nice gesture. BUT. Why no medical insurance for drivers and their families? I shouldn't be asking because I know how expensive that is! All the same I wish this had been taken up more seriously in the good old pre-corona days.

And with the crowdfunding - again, what about the rest of the people who are not drivers? Who would want to help "only drivers"? Is this a way to attract drivers to their pool?

This is almost like a billionaire funding a smooth road in front of his house or office, denying the authorities (no, no sympathy for our authorities, but I'm just stating the ideal) the right to make decisions for the greater good by paying that expense of beautifying that special road as taxes. Even if the billionaire had paid taxes, I think it would be unethical.

But at least he did some good for those connected directly or indirectly to his business. Commendable!

[Mortis]

I have no idea why a company is trying to make their customers as well as the general public pay for a section of people who are "not their employees" since they are "just a software and aggregator company"

At the very least they can offer about 25-50% credit of the donation amount that can be used for rides after 6months or do when things have recovered as a goodwill gesture or have a flat per km rate with no surge pricing for year.

[McLaren Rulez]

Just to put things in perspective, there are roughly 15 lakh Ola drivers in India. So a budget of 20 crores gives each driver around 130 rupees.

Nothing wrong with the gesture but it's a drop in the ocean.