OLA revamped its app with a new user interface, safety features recently and the earlier last year, the company also acquired Pikup.ai, an artificial intelligence startup based out of Bangalore. Following that, OLA launched its new ‘Guardian’ AI-enabled safety feature in India and Australia, after rolling it out as a pilot program. On similar lines, now the company has integrated its ’emergency button’ with the police control room.
OLA’s integration with the Bengaluru City Police control room will enable seamless sharing of ride-information, says the company. With this integration, users will have a choice to call the police directly via 100 and the police will have real-time access to the customer’s ride information including the vehicle’s GPS coordinates, enabling quicker response and on-ground support from the nearest police team.
On-phone assistance will also be provided by Ola’s Safety Response Team (SRT) alongside the assistance from the police department. In case of an emergency, the following information is passed on to the Police department:
- Customer Details
- Name
- City
- Address (NA in case if the customer has not given any address)
- Mobile number
- Emergency Contact details (up to 5 contacts)
- Gender
- Emergency Details
- Date & time
- Emergency Message
- GPS coordinates of the vehicle where EMERGENCY was tapped
- Driver Details
- Driver’s Name
- Driver’s Contact No
- Vehicle No
- Vehicle Model
- Real-time ride tracking solution
Commenting on this, Bhaskar Rao, Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru City said:
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. A great initiative taken by Bengaluru City Police for the safety of citizens travelling in public cabs. The travelers can now reach for police help by simply pressing the Emergency Button provided in the Ola application. Bengaluru City Police is constantly working on building a safer city for its citizens, by integrating with mobility platforms like Ola, at first. This is a one-of-kind initiative taken by Bengaluru City Police to ensure their citizens safety while traveling in cabs.
Arun Srinivas, COO at Ola, said:
As India’s largest mobility platform, safety is a key priority for us and we believe in leveraging technology to provide our customers with a secure and comfortable mobility experience. We are grateful to the Bengaluru Police City police for collaborating with us and supporting our cause to enable safer rides. We will continue to work with the authorities and together set global benchmarks in fostering a safe, convenient and integrated mobility ecosystem in our cities.