Step up Uber: Even kaali-peeli taxis will have panic buttons installed inside them

After the Uber cab rape incident that shocked India, there has been great discussion on ensuring safety for women in taxies. In their latest measure to make travel safer for women in city, kaali-peeli taxis in Mumbai will have a panic button, reports said on Tuesday. Taxi service, Bookmycab, has decided to install the button on almost 2,000 of their cabs which ply in Mumbai, The Times of India report said. [caption id=“attachment_2119341” align=“alignleft” width=“380” class=" “]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The Times of India report quoted an official from Bookmycab as saying, “We have studied the switch’s feasibility and on Monday decided to go ahead with the installations. We will affix the buttons near the passenger seat.” According to an IANS report, the panic button lets passengers immediately contact local police. Users will need to tap the button and confirm the call. The order to install panic buttons in black-and-yellow taxis comes after Maharashtra Transport Commissioner Mahesh Zagade told all taxi operators or aggregators to install panic buttons in their taxis. It was a welcome move after a 27-year-old woman was raped by a Uber cab driver in December last year. The incident raised several concerns about the way taxis function in India. However, Uber did not add a panic button in their taxis. Earlier this month, Uber decided to add a panic button and tracking features to its taxi hailing app in India. Uber’s India app now has a “send status” feature to enable passengers to share ride details with their contacts in real time, a Reuters report said. The app also has an “SOS” button to call the local police directly. A spokesman said the functions were the first market-specific safety features launched by Uber. The report added that the company also said it plans to launch safety features in other countries soon. It also sends live GPS information along with driver and vehicle details to up to five of the passenger’s contacts. The Times of India report quoted Uber general manager in Mumbai Shailesh Sawlani as saying, “Uber does not own cars nor employs drivers. The cabbies are free to work with others. If the vehicle is registered at four platforms, the driver will need to get four buttons installed…also, buttons are prone to wear and tear and malfunctions. We will install them if there is one switch per cab and the onus to instal them is on the owner.” Although, Meru Cabs was the first among the lot to introduce novelty safety issues for those travelling in the night. Meru launched ‘Meru Eve’ taxis which were driven by women drivers so that the female passengers felt safe. Apart from that, these cabs will be equipped with panic buttons synced with 3G-enabled cellphones, women helpline numbers, speed dial to a local emergency number and pepper spray. Authorities in New Delhi banned Uber in December following the incident of rape and issued rules that require all taxis to be equipped with a physical panic button. While the service remains officially banned in Delhi, Uber resumed operations there in January and has since said it has stepped up background checks on all its India drivers. The app is available in several cities. Uber is also fighting bans in France, Spain and South Korea for alleged violations including using unlicensed drivers. It has also had to contend with rape allegations against drivers in Chicago and Boston.