Cab aggregator Ola has launched a new initiative on his platform to crowdsource funds and support cancer care in rural India. Called ‘My Ride. My Cause.’, the initiative has been rolled out through a partnership with Tata Trusts’ Alamelu Charitable Foundation (ACF). Ola customers will have the option to contribute a sum of Re 1 per ride.

According to a statement by Ola, this sum will be utilised towards “lending support to improve cancer care in the country”.

“Ola believes that there is a lot that can be achieved together, for the well being and betterment of the society; leveraging its platform to reach out to customers to crowdsource support is a big step in that direction,” the statement read.

“With millions of rides that Ola facilitates per day and huge network of customers across India, this partnership (with Tata Trusts) will certainly, result in mobilizing funds at scale,” it added.

“We are proud to introduce ‘My Ride. My Cause.,’ a unique and national-scale initiative to crowdsource support for critical social causes. This initiative reiterates our commitment as it will unify millions of Ola customers to mobilise funds and ensure that aid reaches where it is needed the most in our country,” said Bhavish Aggarwal, Co-Founder and CEO of Ola.

He added: “I encourage all our customers and employees to do their bit and join the fight against cancer.”

The Ola statement said the contributions made by Ola customers would enable the foundation to make cancer care affordable and available in rural and remote areas.

Venkataramanan, Managing Trustee, Tata Trusts, said, “Nationwide early cancer detection and access to quality care is a dire need. Tata Trusts is playing a facilitating role to establish infrastructure, develop protocols and trained personnel in partnership with multiple State Governments, NGOs, hospitals and clinicians across the country.”

Here’s how customers can help

Step 1: Once a ride is booked, customers can see an option to contribute Re 1 on the ride booking screen

Step 2: Upon clicking ‘see how’, customers will be able to see detailed information about the foundation and how their contributions will be used

Step 3: A tab at the bottom of the screen that says ‘Donate INR 1 on every ride’ enables the contributions

Step 4: Once accepted, customers can their contribution on the ride details screen for every ride. They can choose to opt out at any point

Step 5: Customers can also activate contributions from the ‘Donations’ section, under Profiles on the global menu

Customers will be able to track the total amount of contributions made at any time and can also claim tax exemption under Section 80G (from January 2019) against the contributions.