By Antoinette Milienos For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 03:01 BST, 9 April 2024 | Updated: 03:31 BST, 9 April 2024

Rideshare service Ola is shutting down across Australia.

Ola, which was one of the biggest competitors to Uber, sent an email to its customers with the shock announcement that it was ‘discontinuing operations’ from April 12. 

‘This means that you will no longer be able to book any rides through your Ola app from that date,’ the email read.

‘You must not take any rides with any vehicle purporting to be an Ola vehicle or Ola driver from 12th April 2024.

‘Ola has not authorised any driver or any other party to use the Ola brand or provide rides on Ola’s behalf.’

The email did not reveal the reason for the abrupt closure or why it happened to suddenly. 

However, the email explained customers could access the app for their account information or to raise a query to the customer care team for a period of 30 days.

Customers will then be permanently locked out of the Ola app from May 11, 2024. 

It’s understood Ola drivers were sent an email advising them to download all relevant information for tax and business purposes before the app becomes unavailable.

Ola was founded by Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati in India in 2011 before launching in Australia in 2018. 

The rideshare company was a direct competitor with Uber and was available to customers in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra. 

It also boasted being one of the world’s largest ridesharing companies with drivers in Australia, India, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. 

More to come 

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Ola ride share shuts down across Australia

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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk