LONDON — Indian ride-hailing agency Ola mentioned Thursday it could provide its London drivers incentives to change to electrical autos, turning on the appeal because it seeks to persuade metropolis regulators it is match to function within the metropolis.

From Thursday, Ola will waive its fee price till Aug. 13 for drivers that personal an electrical mannequin. Ola customers in London will have the ability to request a journey from a brand new “Ola EV” class, which permits solely drivers with electrical autos to just accept journeys.

The SoftBank-backed start-up launched its app in the U.K. capital in February final 12 months, hoping to unseat Uber as market chief. However it was subsequently stripped of its license simply eight months later, with native transport authorities involved Ola was not “match and correct” to carry one.

Ola appealed the choice by Transport for London to not renew its license. Which means it will possibly nonetheless function within the metropolis. An analogous factor has occurred to Uber, twice, however the San Francisco-based agency managed to regain its license after a court docket battle with TfL.

In Ola’s case, TfL discovered the corporate had dedicated “historic breaches” that compromised the security of the general public. It mentioned unlicensed drivers have been in a position to undertake greater than 1,000 passenger journeys utilizing Ola, and that the corporate didn’t notify regulators instantly when these breaches have been first recognized.

“We proceed to work with TfL to handle the problems raised in an open and clear method,” Ola mentioned in an announcement. “At Ola, our core precept is to work intently, collaboratively and transparently with regulators equivalent to TfL.”

“As Ola acknowledged on the time of TfL’s determination, we’re interesting the choice and in doing so, our riders and drivers can relaxation assured that we proceed to function as regular, offering secure and dependable mobility for London.”

Ola claims to have over 25,000 drivers in London, 700 of that are eligible for Ola EV. Following the launch of Ola EV, the corporate says it’s going to look to increase its affords by way of partnerships with different companies to encourage extra drivers to make the change from polluting autos.

In March, Uber reclassified all 70,000 of its U.Ok. drivers as staff after the nation’s Supreme Courtroom dominated {that a} group of the corporate’s drivers needs to be handled as staff, not impartial contractors. That meant that Uber needed to give its U.Ok. drivers a minimal wage, vacation pay and pension plans.

Different ride-hailing apps, together with Ola, Bolt and Free Now, say they’re reviewing the Supreme Courtroom ruling to see if it impacts their enterprise.

Ola has been pushing deeper into electrical autos these days. The corporate’s Ola Electrical unit, which makes electrical scooters and charging amenities, has raised over $300 million from traders up to now, in line with Crunchbase. The agency just lately hired Jaguar Land Rover veteran Wayne Burgess as its head of auto design.