Finally, after Supreme Court rap, Uber starts 24x7 safety helpline for women

Finally, buckling under the top court's pressure to heighten its safety measures with regards to women, mobile cab aggregator Uber has started a 24x7 safety helpline for India.

This is in addition to the already present in-app SOS button, available in the safety toolkit that allows riders to connect with law enforcement authorities in case of an emergency.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court asked the Centre to consider framing a law to regulate app-based cab providers, keeping in mind the safety of women passengers.This has now forced the aggregators to take corrective steps like setting up a helpline number that gives riders the option to get in touch with Uber's safety team should they have an urgent, non-emergency issue, during a trip such as reporting a co-passenger's misbehaviour, a dispute with a driver or a break-down, even while on a trip.

Priyal Dave, working professional who uses app-based aggregators on a regular basis said, "I feel that for a company catering to passengers; the fact that they didn't have a helpline number until now, is disturbing. You cannot give someone email ID or button when in emergency to addressing an issue. Am also glad that the judiciary has taken cognisance and forced these aggregators to take corrective measures."

Meanwhile, the spokesperson of Uber said that now riders can connect with Uber's response team in English and Hindi where the Safety Incident Response Team will be available 24x7.

The RTO officials added that until now, these aggregators were hesitating in setting up such helpline and delayed the procedure.