Government of Assam and Ola, one of the world’s largest ride-sharing companies on Sunday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to pilot an app-based river taxi service in Guwahati.
The MoU has been signed in the presence of Chandra Mohan Patowary, Minister for Transport, Parliamentary Affairs, Industry and Commerce and Mr. Vijay Ghadge, VP of Operations of Ola at the on-going ‘Global Investors Summit: Advantage Assam’ at Sarusajai Stadium, Guwahati, Assam.
Ola launched in the state of Assam in December 2014 and offers long distance, inter-city and state commute.
Bringing water taxis on the online platform, is likely to strengthen the transportation ecosystem.
‘App-based bookings will streamline demand, and enable advance bookings and cashless payments, ensuring a convenient commuting experience as well as given an impetus the local transportation infrastructure and economy,’ read the release.
Chandra Mohan Patowary, Minister for Transport, Industry, and Commerce said, “Assam has a very unique transportation landscape where water transport plays an important role in cities such as Guwahati. Ola has played a key role in streamlining road transport over the last few years in the state. This time around, we are thrilled to extend the partnership with Ola to pilot app-based water taxis in the capital city.”
The river taxis will be a machine-operated boat, which is known to be faster and safer than the conventional ones. Ola will pilot high-speed taxis on the Lachit Ghat, Machkhowa to North Guwahati route, bringing the commute time down 2-5 minutes from 45 minutes by road. The fast pace of these boats-cum-taxis will reduce the travel time effectively.