Ola Ola

October 5, 20200
Transport for London (TfL) has informed Ola UK Private Limited (Ola) that it would not be issued with a private hire operator licence after the expiry of its current licence on 3 October 2020.

TfL’s regulation of London’s taxi and private hire trades is designed to ensure passenger safety.  Private hire operators must meet rigorous regulations, and demonstrate to TfL that they do so, in order to operate.  TfL must also be satisfied that an operator is fit and proper to hold a licence.

TfL has concluded that Ola is not fit and proper to hold a private hire operator licence.

Information for Drivers  
The Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998 includes a provision to appeal a licensing decision within 21 days of it being communicated to the applicant.

Our reasons for not issuing Ola with a private hire operator licence  
Ola has been operating in London since February 2020 and recently made TfL aware of a number of failures that had potential public safety consequences.  These included:

  • Historic breaches of the licensing regime that led to unlicensed drivers and vehicles undertaking more than 1,000 passenger trips on behalf of Ola
  • Failure to draw these breaches to TfL’s attention immediately when they were first identified.