`Real-time location to user details': TS police, Uber announce tech-integration to save lives

Telangana Police and Uber announced a `tech integration' that will provide public safety authorities with real-time actionable data in case of an emergency.

In the face of an emergency, riders or drivers will be able to share their live location which is updated every 4 seconds; along with their name and contact details at the swipe of a button on the Uber app with the police.

This will lead to saving critical time by providing potentially life-saving assistance by the police.

The announcement was made by. Swathi Lakra, Addl. Director General of Police (ADGP), Women Safety Wing, Telangana along with Shiva Shailendran, Director, Supply and Cities operations, India and South Asia.

Access to this data can help first responders intervene faster where help is needed. Uber plans to expand this integration with other State Police departments and take this tech-enabled safety integration Live to multiple cities across India.

"We are committed to ensuring public safety at all times. This new integration provides us with critical details such as real-time location and user details that will help us act swiftly and save lives. We recognize and value harnessing the power of technology to improve efficiency, especially during emergencies. We are pleased to partner with Uber and make use of its global experience to help the public travel hassle-free and feel more secure. Partnerships with private partners and using new-age technology is a key focus for us to further enhance our efforts to ensure safety in our city," Director General of Police, M. Mahendar Reddy said.

Shiva Shailendran, Director, Supply and Cities operations, India and South Asia, Uber said: "There's nothing more critical than the safety of the people we serve - and technology is at the core of our approach to safety challenges. Uber is committed to constantly investing in new technologies that improve the experience in the platform for drivers and riders, embodied in several safety features already available on the app. We believe that 'safety never stops' and we are continually looking at solutions to improve safety on our platform. We are proud to introduce this new and improved tech-integration and hope to use this as a model that can be replicated across different cities."

How it works

● Rider or driver to access the safety toolkit by tapping the blue shield icon

● On reaching the '100' assistance, the user will be prompted with the location and user contact details and will be notified that these details will be shared automatically when they swipe to call 100

● After the user's 'swipe to call', by default, trip and other contact information will be shared with the police in all cases.

● If the user doesn't want to share their location with the police, they will have an option to turn off the share feature. In this case, the SOS signal will not be shared with the control room but the user can still reach out to 100 through their phone.

● Below information will be shared with the police control room:

○ Live Location - auto-updated every 4 seconds

Name of the user

○ Contact number of the user

○ Email, if available

Over the last few years, Uber has continually introduced safety features to enhance safety on its platform. These include RideCheck, a dedicated 24X7 Safety Helpline, Share trip with Trusted Contacts, and Two-way Call Anonymization, among others. In addition, Uber has sensitized 100,000+ drivers on appropriate platform behavior towards women in partnership with NGO Manas Foundation.