Ola, Uber switch gears to get on to Covid-19 duty in India

• Ola announced a new feature – Ola Emergency, in partnership with the Ministry of Health in Karnataka. With this feature, users can now book trips to the hospital.
• Uber partnered with Flipkart, BigBasket and Spencer’s Retail to deliver essential services during the coronavirus crisis.
• Both ride hailing giants have been able to switch gears to put their hundreds of cabs to good use.

When the nationwide lockdown was announced, Ola and Uber cab drivers suddenly found themselves ‘almost’ out of their jobs. As people stayed homes, there were no bookings available anymore and the government then went ahead and banned public transport.

Both the ride hailing giants have been able to switch gears to put their hundreds of cabs to good use.

Indian ride hailing unicorn Ola announced a new feature – Ola Emergency, in partnership with the Ministry of Health in Karnataka. With this feature, users can now book trips to the hospital.

To book an ‘Ola Emergency’ cab, one can select the category “Enabled for Hospitals” on their Ola app, and enter the drop location from a list of available hospitals in the city.

Ola has already partnered with 200 hospitals in Bengaluru. While the feature is currently available in Bengaluru alone, Ola plans to extend it to other cities soon.

“After the lockdown, for COVID-19 all 108 ambulances are being used. To ensure citizens are not troubled, Ola has come forward and will transport people with all cases of medical trips and emergencies that are non-ambulatory in nature from their homes to the hospital and vice versa, for a minimal charge,” said B Sriramulu, Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Government of Karnataka in a statement.

Earlier Ola had provided 500 cabs to the government of Karnataka to help ferry medical professionals during the coronavirus lockdown.

Meanwhile, Uber partnered with Flipkart, BigBasket and Spencer’s Retail to deliver essential services during the coronavirus crisis. Being the ‘extra hands’ for the e-commerce platforms, Uber will use its fleet of cars to ensure people continue to get their supply of essentials even during the lockdown.

“The partnership helps keep the economy running and enables Indians to stay at home in line with government guidelines for containing COVID-19, as well as creates earning opportunities for drivers,” said Prabhjeet Singh, director of operations, Uber India and South Asia in a statement.

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