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Ola: Ride-sharing firm to launch in London 'within weeks'
It
comes days after rival Uber was denied a new licence to operate in London after
repeated safety failures.
Ola,
which already operates in the UK, said it has held "constructive
conversations" with local authorities.
The
Indian firm was granted a licence from Transport for London (TfL) earlier this
year.
"We
are inviting the tens of thousands of private hire drivers across London to
register themselves on the Ola platform, as we prepare to launch in the city in
the coming weeks," Ola's Head of International Simon Smith said in a
statement.
"We
have had constructive conversations with the authorities, drivers, and local
communities in London over the past months."
Mr
Smith said the company has built a "robust mobility platform for London
which is fully compliant with TfL's high standards".
Ola's
push into the London capital comes as rival Uber prepares to appeal against
TfL's decision to strip the firm of its licence there.
On Monday, the
regulator said the taxi app was not "fit and proper" as a licence holder,
despite having made a number of positive changes to its operations.
Uber
initially lost its licence in 2017 but was granted two extensions, the most
recent of which expired this week.
The
US ride-share giant said the decision was "extraordinary and wrong".
It said it had audited every driver in London over the past two months and
strengthened its processes.
UK expansion
In
July, Ola got a 15-month agreement for its entry into the London market. It
began operating in the UK last year, with services in south Wales.
The Softbank-backed
company touted its safety features - including driver facial recognition
technology and an in-app emergency button to alert safety response teams -
ahead of its London launch.
Ola
operates in more than 250 cities across India, the UK, Australia and New
Zealand.



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