Ola puts safety first with launch of ride-sharing Safety Council

Ola is bringing together organisations and individuals from a range of sectors to ensure the mobility ecosystem is safe, inclusive and sustainable: a first for the ride-sharing industry. 

The project, named Safety Council, will bring together experts from the fields of urban transport, climate change, women’s safety, security management, traffic management and emergency management services.

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 over 110 cities, is well positioned to play a pivotal role in supporting the government’s vision for enhanced road safety.”

Combining knowledge, data, technology and local networks will help focus on areas that can make the greatest impact. The council will also work alongside policy makers, state transport authorities, traffic police departments and relevant stakeholders to create solutions that enhance ride and road safety on Ola as well as within the ecosystem.

Dr. OP Agarwal, Head – WRI India and Ola Safety Council member, said: “WRI has been working closely with Ola and we have jointly explored the impact Ola Share has had in reducing traffic congestion and vehicular pollution levels in India. As a Safety Council member, I look forward to collaborating with them for several sustainable initiatives that will help improve the mobility ecosystem in a holistic manner.”

Indian Road Safety Campaign and the Centre for Social Research are two organisations that have been confirmed as members. Individuals who have joined the council include Dr. OP Agarwal, Head – World Resources Institute (WRI), India, Dr. Parvinder Singh Pasricha, IPS (Retd.), Former Director General of Police, Maharashtra and Dr. GV Ramana Rao, Director – GVK EMRI, Emergency Medicine Learning Centre (EMLC) & Research.

Nitesh Prakash, Senior 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 experience of safety experts backed by Ola’s tech ability and country-wide reach, the industry’s first council will further strengthen the mobility’s safety ecosystem. The intent is to galvanise public-private partnerships through a multi-stakeholder approach.”

The safety council will adopt a multi-functional work approach along these five pillars, adopted from the ‘United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety’:

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.

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; three per cent of India’s GDP – not to mention the rehabilitation costs and the emotional toll this has 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.”

In the coming months, the Ola Safety Council will work on advancing solutions to accelerate the growth and social impact of road safety technology, using members’ insights for the best practices in safety for ride-sharing.