Ola Signs MoU With Maruti Suzuki

Country’s leading carmaker Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with online car aggregator Ola to train aspiring drivers-partners, on Friday. The pilot phase of the initiative will be rolled out in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and the NCR, and will be gradually rolled out in Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Pune, informed a press release. 

“We are glad that through this partnership with Ola, we will be able to expand quality driving training while creating opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship. We target to train 40,000 individuals over 3 years,” said MSIL’s executive director (Marketing and Sales), RS Kalsi.

The company has devised a comprehensive training program comprising simulators, theory and practical sessions, imparted through 370 Maruti Driving Schools and six Institutes of Driving and Traffic Research across India. The curriculum, besides driving skills, offers soft skills like grooming, manners and etiquette to develop a positive attitude among the drivers, added the release. 

As per the MoU, Ola will help create opportunities for these trained drivers by giving them access to infrastructure, financing and continuous revenue while Maruti will enable the partners-drivers obtain commercial license and also assist in availing vehicle financing to purchase their own car, after the completion of their course.

Under Maruti’s guidance, the aspiring drivers will undergo 30-day training lessons including classroom sessions and practical training sessions. This will help the drivers gain a broader understanding of vehicle controls and mechanisms, maintenance, traffic laws etc along with risk perception, defensive driving techniques, driving in difficult conditions, rules of the road and emergency handling.

Through its partnership programmes, Ola has worked closely with multiple state governments to create a hefty workforce of drivers. The aggregator aims to add a further 50 lakh driver-partners on its platform by 2022 through such collaborations, said the release.