Delhi Police ties up with Uber for women safety

New Delhi: Passengers can now access the Delhi Police's women safety mobile application 'Himmat' via cab aggregator Uber's application while travelling in taxis.

The Delhi Police hopes the partnership, the first of its kind, with the technology firm will help it increase the reach of the Himmat application.

Since its launch in January 2015, around 90,000 people have downloaded the Himmat application and it currently has over 31,000 registered users, the police said.

Uber also aims to act as a force multiplier and expand its access to all of its women riders.

Special Commissioner Police, Women Safety, Airports and Modernisation, Sanjay Baniwal, said the Delhi Police is committed to ensuring safety of women across the city and technology helps enable a more robust surveillance network and Himmat app provides quick 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," he said.

Shweta Rajpal Kohli, head of public policy, Uber India and South Asia, said, technology-led solutions to overcome safety challenges are vital to make mega-cities like Delhi safe for women.

"We are honoured to be partnering with 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," she said.

The DCP of the Crime Branch, Madhur Verma, who was also present at the programme, said the Himmat app is the Delhi Police's another step towards women's safety which becomes more crucial in a society that has a parochial mindset.