Ola launches in Coventry and Warwick with London set to follow before 2020

Ride-hailing service, Ola, today launched its app in Coventry and Warwick, with London to follow before the end of the year.

Ola, who originated from India, have been recruiting and training drivers from the local area over the past three weeks.

Local councils granted the technology and transport firm with both taxi and private hire licences – a first for these areas. Alok Pandya, Ola’s Regional Manager for the West Midlands, Coventry and Warwick, said: “We are thrilled to expand our service to Coventry and Warwick, having launched in Birmingham earlier this year. We have learnt a huge amount in the twelve months since launch and feel immensely proud that our drivers have already provided over one million rides across the UK. “Coventry is the home of the black cab, and as such we are delighted to be able to boost the employment opportunities for local drivers. We are leading the way with driver benefits and are the only app in the area to include black cab drivers in our dynamic fleet.” Ola say that they are the only app that can be used by both black cabs and Private Hire Vehicles (PHVs) in the area, giving both drivers and riders more choice. The transport company claim to have committed to making black cab and PHV ride options equally as attractive to app users, by ensuring that they are competitively priced. Black cabs do not ‘peak’, meaning that they can be cheaper when PHVs are in high demand. Passengers have taken more than one million rides across the UK through Ola’s ride-hailing app since the company launched in Cardiff in August 2018. 

Since then Ola has launched in Bristol in October; Bath and Exeter in November; and Liverpool, Birmingham and Reading this March. Coventry and Warwick will be the eighth and ninth UK launches, with the company set to begin operations in London before the end of the year. 

Image credit: Ola