The Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) has signed an MoU with homegrown cab aggregator Ola to promote tourism and the mobility ecosystem in AP.
According to a report by the Hindu, Ola will create nearly 25,000 job opportunities in the state in five years, encouraging entrepreneurship and sustainable income for the youth.
The first batch of exclusively co-branded Ola and AP Tourism cars were flagged off by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Tourism Secretary Mukesh Kumar Meena and CEO, AP Tourism Authority Himanshu Shukla along with founder partner of Ola, Pranay Jivrajka, in Amaravati on Tuesday.
Ola will train driver partners on information about the tourist destinations in the state, helping them impart the same to passengers.
New tourist packages, festivals and holiday season packages will be created as part of the collaboration.
Ola’s services can also be availed through AP Tourism counters at airports, railway and bus stations and Haritha hotels and resorts in a revenue-sharing model.
Ola will also have fixed fare packages for critical locations and informed driver partners on popular tourist destinations.
The government of AP and Ola will further extend their partnership in the future to introduce an additional set of services such as electric vehicles, bikes and buses based on their feasibility and regulatory factors.
“Our vision is to make AP a model State not just in the country but also for global audience. We are betting heavily on technology-based models across different sectors. Together we will be able to provide a reliable commute service to tourists and create jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities for thousands of people,” said Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
“We shall extend our full support to ensure smooth implementation of this partnership and also to bring more services under one umbrella. Ola’s commitment will help us achieve our aspiration to create large-scale employment and also to provide a refined experience to the tourists,” said AP Tourism Authority Himanshu Shukla told Hindu.
Ola is also working with the government to start a skill development programme to provide training to driver partners. Back in September 2015, Ola signed an agreement with the govt of Andhra Pradesh to invest Rs 150 crore and add 40,000 vehicles to its platform for the state over the next three years.