Mahindra Logistics on Tuesday launched Oxygen on Wheels (O2W), a free service to augment the availability of oxygen by connecting producers with hospitals and medical centres.

The service has been rolled out in cities such as Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Chakan, Nasik and Nagpur in Maharashtra, with the company deploying around 100 vehicles to overcome the transportation bottleneck, with safe and quick transportation to deliver oxygen cylinders on demand, a release said.

The service will be helmed by Mahindra Logistics, which is partnering with the administration and local government bodies on this project, Mahindra & Mahindra said.

The company also said it is in discussions with civic administration and government departments to extend the service to other cities as well, including Delhi, which, along with other states, is facing an acute shortage of medical oxygen.

Besides, given the overwhelming response in the past 48 hours, extending this initiative to deliver oxygen cylinders directly to patients’ homes is also under consideration, it said.

“We are committed to deploying our resources and capabilities innovatively to address the challenge on hand. Oxygen on Wheels meets an urgent need by partnering with local authorities, to help save precious lives and reduce pressure on our healthcare services,” said Anish Shah, Managing Director and CEO, Mahindra Group.

With a large fleet of vehicles at its disposal and an integrated command and control center, Mahindra Logistics is working on creating a seamless and endless chain of supply of medical oxygen, and transporting it to hospitals and medical centres in a way that is safe and reliable, the company said.