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| Photo Credit: Reuters
Bengaluru city police on Monday (December 22, 2025) announced that it has partnered with ride-hailing platforms such as Uber and Ola for a technology integration aimed at improving safety for both riders and drivers by strengthening emergency response mechanisms in the city.
The integration enables riders and drivers to directly share real-time location data and key trip-related information with the police through the ride hailing apps during emergencies.
According to Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh, “The new integration allows emergency call facilities to be accessed directly from the Uber and Ola mobile applications used for booking rides. Through this feature, riders and drivers seeking emergency assistance can share real-time location data, trip details, and contact information with the Bengaluru City Police’s 112 emergency response infrastructure from within the app itself.”
“The seamless flow of critical information will enable quicker access for the police during emergencies, facilitating faster response times and potentially life-saving interventions by first responders. The initiative is seen as a significant step towards leveraging technology partnerships to ensure safer urban mobility and improved public safety in Bengaluru,” Mr. Singh said.
Meanwhile, according to Uber, with a simple swipe, users can transmit critical details to the police control room, allowing first responders to reach the location faster and intervene more effectively.
“During an ongoing trip, riders or drivers can access the safety toolkit by tapping the blue shield icon on the Uber app. When they choose ‘112’ emergency assistance, they are notified that their live location and contact details will be shared automatically with the police once they swipe to place the call,” an Uber spokesperson said.
“Once activated, the system shares live location updates every four seconds along with the user’s name, contact number, driver and vehicle details, and email address, if available,” the spokesperson added.
Uber clarified that the sharing of trip and contact information with the police is enabled by default to ensure timely intervention. However, users retain control over their data and can opt out of sharing their location with the police, in which case the SOS signal will not be transmitted to the control room, though they can still place a call to 112 through their phone.
Earlier, on November 10, Mr. Singh, speaking at #THTalksBengaluru, The Hindu’s interactive programme, had revealed that the city police had directed cab and autorickshaw aggregator apps to integrate their SOS button feeds with the city police’s command centre to enable immediate response. In the same month, the city police had also mandated the display of stickers carrying the police helpline number 112 and a QR code that redirects users to the Karnataka State Police (KSP) mobile application.
Published – December 22, 2025 04:52 pm IST
