Now, Ola ‘ferries' to the rescue of water-logged Chennai!

When you’re stranded in a flood-hit part of Chennai, it’s understandable that the last thing that would be on your mind is the fact that a boat might be sent to rescue you.

Infact, even entertaining the very thought seems ridiculous when you’re knee-deep in water. Like any normal person, you’re expected to wade through the muck while fervently praying that you don’t catch a cold and look at your phone with puppy dog eyes waiting for your Uber/Ola/Meru cab to be confirmed so that you can be looted off of exorbitant amount of money under the guise of surge pricing.

But, as it turns out taxi aggregator Ola did listened to your thoughts and deployed boats in water logged and partially submerged areas in a bid to help transport citizens stranded due to the Chennai floods.

All of the Ola boats (as they’ve been christened on social media) are manned by professional rowers and fishermen and these boats will also be used to provide food and drinking waster in specific areas which are reportedly short of basic supplies.

Talking about the initiative, Ravi Teja, Business Head of Tamil Nadu at Ola said, “Thousands of citizens have been stranded and are suffering due to heavy rains and water logging in Chennai. While we are addressing the increased demand for transportation in the city through the Ola app, we are working closely with local stakeholders to help ferry those stranded in water logged areas. Boats deployed by Ola will help ferry people to safer areas and in distribution of essential supplies like food and drinking water in affected areas.”

Each boat is said to be manned by two rowers and can ferry anywhere between five to nine people at one time. Rain-gear and umbrellas are being provided by Ola to the rowers and their respective boats to ensure people can be ferried without any hassle.

The Ola team is being lauded for this clever initiative on social media with people hailing the management for being this efficient and thoughtful- however amidst all the appreciation, everyone seems to want to know the answer to the most important question- ‘Will Ola Boats have surge pricing too?’

On its behalf, Ola has confirmed that these services are being extended to the public for free.

These services are expected to be available over the next three days and might get extended if water-logging continues in the city.

Your turn, Uber?