People in India will be able to use cab-hailing services Ola and Uber starting today, but with certain limitations.
Last week, the Indian government extended the lockdown by two weeks. However, it divided its 733 districts into Red, Orange, and Green zones to denote the severity of the spread of coronavirus in those areas (red being the worst affected). Currently, 130 districts are classified as Red, 284 as Orange, and 319 as Green.
Earlier this morning, Uber said it’s resuming its services in Green and Orange zones. In Orange zones, it’ll work only outside containment areas. In Red Zones, it has UberEssential and UberMedic services to carry health professionals and provide access to hospitals.
[Read: Amazon and Flipkart set to deliver non-essential goods in India — but read the fine print first]
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You can check out the full list of areas here.
Meanwhile, Ola said it’s resuming its services in 100 cities that fall under Orange and Green Zones.
In a statement, Anand Subramanian, spokesperson and head of communications, Ola, thanked the government and said it’s opening its service to millions of citizens:
We thank the Central Government for recognizing the importance of mobility in these difficult times. As we reopen our platform to millions of citizens for their commute and driver-partners whose livelihoods are dependent on serving mobility needs, safety of both continues to be the topmost priority for us. Our fight against COVID-19 is a collective effort, and will be possible only with both our driver-partners and customers doing their bit to ensure that everyone has access to safe and high-quality mobility.
The company said it’s taking measures to ensure the safety of passengers and drivers including compulsory masks and two passengers per car limit. You can check the list of all 100 cities where Ola is resuming its service here.
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