London Revokes Ola Cab’s Licence Over Alleged Safety Norms Violation; Ola To Appeal Against The Ban

In a setback for Bhavish Aggarwal led Indian upstart Ola Cabs, London's public transport authority, Transport for London (TfL) has revoked the cab aggregator's licence over alleged breaches in passenger safety norms, reports Livemint.

TfL said on Monday (5 October) that it had discovered multiple safety issues with Ola's operations, which included the company's failure to stop unlicensed drivers and vehicles from operating on the roads in case of more than 1,000 passenger trips.

It should be noted that Ola had launched operations in London just months ago in February. It had over 25,000 drivers registered on its platform in London. Also, London marked 28th city in the United Kingdom (UK) where Ola had launched operations following launches in cities like Birmingham, Bristol and Liverpool.

Ola has said that it will appeal against the ban. It has said that it is working with TfL and has assured that it will address the concerns raised in an open and transparent manner.

“Ola will take the opportunity to appeal this decision, and in doing so, our riders and drivers can rest assured that we will continue to operate as normal, providing safe and reliable mobility for London," Marc Rozendal, managing director, Ola UK, said as per the report.

Meanwhile, it should be noted that London had also revoked Uber's licence in December 2019 citing safety concerns, and reinstated it only last week.