HYDERABAD: To ensure the safety of women passengers, the Telangana government has already decided to introduce She Taxis driven by women. But what about the safety of the women drivers themselves?
Not taking any chances, the authorities have decided to make the She Taxis as secure as possible — complete with pepper spray, geo-fencing and also a button for immediate communication with servers at police stations. Geo-fencing allows digital entry of pick up and destination points and alerts will be sent if the vehicle deviates from the intended route.
Acting on the recommendations of the committee on issues relating to safety and security of women and girls in Telangana State, the government has decided to expedite the She Taxi scheme. Another committee was formed this month to monitor and implement the scheme with Telangana Transport Commissioner M Jagadeeshwar as its chairman. “Pepper spray, GPS and the buttons would be provided not only in She Taxis but also in cabs which will be used to train the women drivers,” said a member of the committee N Divya Charan Rao, additional DCP, Cyberabad.
The taxis would be plying in the airport region and the IT corridor, primarily catering to women passengers. Whether men would be allowed to hire the cabs is an issue that will be decided at the next meeting of the committee. However, it is unlikely that men would be allowed to use the taxis.
Though 50 women drivers were supposed to be selected from Hyderabad and Cyberabad, only 11 out of 47 applicants have turned up to avail of the scheme thus far. According to a GO, if drivers could not be found locally, they could be selected from nearby districts.