Thu. Mar 28th, 2024
Uber

Uber, one of the largest on-demand ride-sharing company has today announced a partnership with Delhi Police to allow quick access to Himmat, a women safety mobile app, through the rider app.

Through this initiative, Uber joins hands with the law enforcement agency to add one more layer of safety for women riders using Uber.

This is Delhi Police’s first partnership with a technology company to intensify its focus on the safety of women in the city. With this partnership, Himmat will now be accessible to lakhs of women riders in one go.

Since the launch of app in January 2015, around 90,000 people have downloaded the Himmat app and it currently has over 31,000 registered users. Uber aims to act as a force multiplier and expand its access to all of Uber’s women riders.

Speaking on the partnership, Shweta Rajpal Kohli, Head – Public Policy, Uber India & South Asia, said,

At Uber, safety of riders is paramount. We believe that technology-led solutions to overcoming safety challenges are increasingly vital to making mega-cities like Delhi safe for women. We are honored to be partnering with the Delhi Police in this critical mission. Combining access to the Himmat app through Uber is a big step towards strengthening the safety net available to lakhs of women riders. We applaud the efforts taken by the Delhi Police to prioritise safety of women and believe that the Himmat app is a great initiative in this direction.

The first phase of this partnership will see Uber developing a permanent in-app access for for the Himmat app, including a link to download it from the app store. The second phase will allow users to directly access the Himmat app from within the Uber app. The third and final phase will involve an API Integration between both the apps.

Mr. Sanjay Baniwal, Special Commissioner Police, Women Safety, Airports and Modernisation, said,

The Delhi Police is committed to the safety of women across the city. Technology helps enable a more robust surveillance network and allows Himmat be harnessed to provide quick and timely assistance to women in distress. Through this partnership with Uber, we believe more women riders in Delhi will be sensitised about the availability of this assistance at hand. In addition to the Emergency Button in the Uber app, riders will now have one more touch point to access the police helpline in case of an emergency.

Uber believes that this technology provides an incredible opportunity to improve road safety in new and innovative ways before, during and after every ride.

Before the ride begins, a rider can double-check the license plate, driver name and photo shown in the app. During the trip, a rider can share trip details with friends and family, including estimated time of arrival and the specific route taken.

The Uber rider app also features an Emergency button that can be used in the rare case of emergency while on an Uber ride to connect with the local police. The company’s incident response teams also gets notified instantly, and connects with the rider.

By Jeet