Hyderabad: The Women Safety Wing of state police has integrated the T-SAFE app with Uber SOS and Safegaadi.com, making it easier for commuters in distress to seek immediate police help.
Telangana is the first state in the country to embed citizen-initiated, police-led ride monitoring directly within public and private transport platforms, according to an official statement. A live demonstration was held for commuters on Wednesday during the T-SAFE annual success meet held at Ameerpet Metro station by the Women Safety Wing.
When a rider taps the SOS button on the Uber app, the T-SAFE team of Telangana police receives the live location and ride details instantly, enabling emergency police intervention. Safegaadi offers QR-based vehicle and driver verification, ideal for users without the app.
"This is a leap forward in our mission to make every ride safe. With Uber SOS and Safegaadi integrations, T-SAFE ensures real-time alerts and swift police response, shifting from reactive safety to proactive intervention," said Shikha Goel, DG Women Safety Wing.
Launched on March 12, 2024, by chief minister A Revanth Reddy, the T-SAFE app allows users to get their journey monitored by police for their safety via phones or web links. So far, 36,000 rides were monitored in Telangana through T-SAFE and 27,000 SOS alerts were addressed with an average response time of eight minutes.
The T-SAFE app was downloaded 43,000 times and has 32,000 registered users. Police said that they had resolved 39,910 ride deviations flagged through the app, and seven other state govts have expressed interest in replicating the model.
Police are planning to expand the integration of T-SAFE with other travel aggregators such as Ola, Rapido, Manayatri, and Abhibus.
HMRL Hyderabad security manager Balakrishna, Uber's South India Operations head Harshini, Safegaadi.com founder Ramesh Reddy and Parimala Hana Nuthan, DIG, Integrated Command Control Centre (ICCC), attended the event on Wednesday.