Indian OLA banned in London

OLA is an Indian ridesharing company offering services that include vehicle for hire and food delivery. The company is based in Bangalore, Karnataka, India and was developed by ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd. 

OLA is popular in India for cheap and quick riding in urban and rural as well. People in India are habituated for OLA riding whenever they need. OLA has recently focused to start its operations in London since February 2020.

But OLA has lost its operating license in London. Its authority Transport for London (TFL) stripped OLA of its license saying that app is not fit and proper to hold. TFL also said they observed many failures that could risk passenger’s safety. It includes breaches of its licensing regime that led to unlicensed drivers & vehicles understanding more than 1K passenger’s trips on OLA’s behalf. It was also accused of not notifying the authorities when the breaches were first identified.

Indian based start-up finally lost license based on security concerns. It’s great sigh of relief for OLA’s rival UBER. It starts operations in 2018 in Cardiff and has spread to other UK locations. UBER’s license was also taken away over public safety concerns. Last week, major rival UBER secured its right to continue operating in London after a judge upheld its appeal against TFL. OLA has now 21 days to appeal against TFL decision. It has decided to go appeal against to TFL decision. UBER, FREENOW and BOLT are dominated London cab market since few years apart from traditional black taxis.