She Taxis to hit Kochi streets with renewed energy in March

 Repeated incidents of online cab drivers molesting woman passengers have put the spotlight back on She Taxi service.
She Taxis to hit Kochi streets with renewed energy in March

KOCHI: Repeated incidents of online cab drivers molesting woman passengers have put the spotlight back on She Taxi service. Launched with much fanfare in 2014, the service never fully took off due to feeble public response. However, learning from its experiences, Gender Park, an initiative under the Department of Social Justice, is planning to relaunch the service with e-scooters and ‘She Buses’ by the end of March.

“We started with five taxis and expanded gradually. The project was initially launched in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode,” said an official with Gender Park’s She Taxi section. The official said the service was launched to provide women with safe travel option. “However, people’s apprehensions and lack of enough awareness led to poor passenger patronage,” said the official. “She Taxi also aimed at providing woman entrepreneurs an opportunity to enter into social-entrepreneurship,” said the official. During the relaunch, around 50 taxis will be pressed into service, the official added. 

“Around 60 to 63 woman entrepreneurs have expressed interest in being part of the project. Among them, some are drivers while others are owners,” said the official, adding that there are 38 drivers and 20 to 25 taxis on the road at present. “Besides increasing the number of taxis in the three cities where the project is already in place, the relaunch aims at starting services all over Kerala,” said the official. 

Fail-safe mechanisms for emergencies

Nizhal - Launched by Kerala Police to ensure safety of women and senior citizens. During an emergency, women can dial 112 to seek help. If the person in need presses her mobile phone’s power button thrice, the phone will automatically dial the number. Then, police can track the location of the person using GPS and rush to rescue.

SOS -  A mobile application launched by the Kochi city police for women’s safety. After downloading the app, the user will have to register by giving basic details such as name, address, age, contact number and phone number of an immediate relative. The app will have an alert button which can be pressed when the user requires help or feels she is in trouble. The app will automatically record sounds for the next 30 seconds and send the same to the police. It also sends alerts to the police control room as well as to the alternative contact number.

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