Hyderabad: The ‘My Vehicle is Safe’ initiative, which helps autorickshaw passengers get details of their driver, is catching on.
So far, 2,232 autos have been digitised. The project is helpful to both drivers and passengers, Rachakonda police commissioner Mahesh M. Bhagwat told auto drivers who had come for registration of vehicles at a ‘My Vehicle is Safe’ initiative.
Under the project started in September, details of autorickshaw owners and drivers are gathered, verified, the data digitised and a sticker with QR code generated.
The stickers are pasted on the front and rear sides of the vehicle and behind the driver’s seat. This helps easy identification of the vehicle to ensure passenger safety, especially that of women and children.
While engaging autorickshaws, passengers can scan the QR code using the code reader app and forward the details to well-wishers. Besides, if a passenger forgets his or her belongings, it would be easy to contact the autorickshaw through www.safeautotaxi.com and www.safegaadi.com.
Such practices will also keep drivers under check and if unfortunate incidents still take place, the scanned QR details can be forwarded to a nearby police station for prompt action.
“This option is very helpful to someone travelling by auto at night, especially women. In fact, we can say it is an out-of-the-box idea,” said Anoop, a resident of Uppal. “Everyone should use this facility and the police should create awareness among the public as many are not aware of it.”
Mr Bhagwat said: “The ‘My Auto is safe’ project is very helpful to commuters, especially women. Whenever a citizen engages an auto, he/ she asks for the auto’s registration. If they haven’t registered and the My Vehicle is Safe registration sticker is missing, many residents refuse to board the autos.”
