India’s largest automaker, Maruti Suzuki has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Ola Cabs, under which the former will provide training to aspiring driver-partners for the online taxi aggregator. Maruti expects to train as many as 40,000 individuals in the next three years under the new ‘Maruti Ola Training Program’.
The first phase will see Maruti introduce the programme in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and the NCR. Cities such as Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Pune are set to join the list at a later stage.
As per the MoU, Maruti will help aspiring drivers obtain commercial licenses and also provide financial assistance to said drivers for purchase of their own taxis following the completion of the course. Ola will provide qualified leads of potential driver-partners to Maruti for facilitating them with commercial driving training.
All aspiring drivers will undergo a 30-day driving training which includes a pre- and post- assessment tests to gauge their driving skills. The classroom sessions will familiarise the trainee with basic requirements such as vehicle controls and mechanisms, road signage, rules and markings, driving in difficult conditions, maintenance and fuel efficiency tips and traffic laws. Besides these, dedicated sessions on soft skills like being a good road user, interactive case studies on the effects of bad driving habits, the importance of positive attitude, grooming tips, etiquettes and good manners will be imparted too.
Drivers will also undergo practical training in safe and efficient driving, pre-checks before starting to drive, risk perception, defensive driving techniques, driving in difficult conditions, rules of the road and emergency handling.
Earlier this year, Maruti had entered into a similar agreement with online cab aggregator, Uber, for a similar training course to train 30,000 drivers over a three-year period.
Dipan Sur
Viraaj Bhatnagar
