Uber is partnering with mobile safety app Safetipin in New Delhi, India, to tag locations across the city with safety scores. The effort will allow citizens to understand their surroundings in terms of safety and inform government authorities with precise data for improved urban planning.
The initiative will see Uber training drivers to work after dark with Safetipin’s auditors for five months, starting February 25, to capture photos and safety information for areas and roads across the city.
Each image will be tagged with a safety score based on nine parameters: lighting, openness, visibility, security, walk path, crowd and gender diversity and density. The information is supplemented with comments and pictures from Safetipin’s users.
The two companies will work with the city government to use this data and improve safety conditions across New Delhi. In the coming months, this initiative will also roll out across other markets including Bogotá, Colombia and Nairobi, Kenya.
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Says Safetipin founder Ashish Basu, “We are delighted to have Uber’s participation and support in key cities around the world. This association will provide us with a much larger data set that would otherwise not have been possible, and the process is easier with Uber’s engaged and professional driver community.”
Uber is working hard to change its reputation in New Delhi, where a passenger was allegedly raped by a driver last year. The company recently boosted its background checks on drivers and introduced a panic button on its app for riders.
➤ Uber Joins Forces With Safetipin [Uber Blog]
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