Transport department keeping in mind the safety of passengers, particularly women.

From April 2019, all taxis operating in Delhi will have GPS-linked panic buttons, including those running under app-based aggregator platforms. The measure is being taken by Delhi govt’s transport department keeping in mind the safety of passengers, particularly women.

“Initially, we had planned that all taxis & cabs in Delhi would have panic buttons by 2018 but now the date has been postponed to April 2019,” said a senior transport department official.

The official said that the panic button would be connected with the GPS device of the vehicle & the moment a passenger presses the button, an ‘SOS’ icon would flash on the GPS tracking screens at the department’s control room.

“We would be able to find out the precise location of the taxi immediately & take necessary action,” he said.

Early this year, the transport dept. has set up an Operations Control Centre at its headquarters in north Delhi’s Civil Lines area.

Transport officials have started tracking real-time location of taxis, auto-rickshaws & other public vehicles thanks to the GPS devices installed in the vehicles. Cabs of app-based aggregators, however, aren't being tracked at the moment as a separate regulatory policy is being formulated for them.

“The problem with cabs of app-based aggregators is that most of them have All-India Tourist Permits & don’t come under our purview. However, the Centre has now made it mandatory for all taxis to have these panic buttons & they'll come under its ambit,” the official said.

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