- The integration will let users share their ride-information including driver and car details with the city police
- This is the second city after Hyderabad where Ola implemented this feature
India’s ride-hailing company Ola has integrated its in-app emergency button with the Bengaluru Police’s safety app, Suraksha. The integration will let users share their ride-information including driver and car details with the city police to help them track the particular.
Through this integration, whenever a customer presses the ‘emergency button’, they will have the option to call the police directly via 100. Once this is activated, the police will have real-time access to the customer’s ride information and the vehicle’s GPS coordinates, enabling the nearest police team to track the car. Moreover, Ola will foster its safety measures and the company’s Safety Response Team (SRT) will also immediately contact the customer and provide on-phone assistance until the customer’s safety is confirmed.
“With shared cab services being a popular mode of transport in the city, Bengaluru City Police now offers great convenience and ensures the citizens of Bengaluru a secure ride-hailing experience by integrating Suraksha app with Ola application. This is a one-of-kind initiative taken by Bengaluru City Police to ensure their citizens safety while traveling in cabs.”,” Bhaskar Rao, Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru City said.
This is the second city in India where the ride-hailing unicorn has enhanced its safety features with the city’s police to safeguard the safety of those riding in its cabs. It first implemented the feature in Hyderabad.
As a part of its own initiatives to strengthen ride safety for its customers, Ola has added the new feature in its existing Ola Guardian option. The Guardian is company’s ‘flagship’ real-time customer ride monitoring system that automatically detects irregular trip activity, including prolonged stops and unexpected route deviations. These alerts are flagged off in real-time to Ola’s 24×7 SRT that immediately reach out to customers and drivers to confirm if they’re safe and offer on-the-call assistance until ride completion. The Ola Guardian has been running in select cities since 2018.
Meanwhile, its rival Uber has also increased its safety features on its app such as audio recording, ridecheck and PIN verification to its Indian customers after releasing the same features in US.
