International Women's Day 2018: These apps can ease your commute

New Delhi: The safety of women has been accorded the highest priority in the recent past, owing to an increase in the crimes against women.

Women of the millennial are now moving outside their homes, be it for higher education, employment or post marriage. Travelling alone can be quite daunting, particularly at odd hours.

While the government bodies and law agencies aim to improve vigilance, there are technology players alongside who are also coming up with tech-based solutions and wearable devices that can ensure women safety.

This Women's Day, here are some corporates and start-ups that have pledged to make travel a lot safer for women by offering shared mobility and smart navigation solutions:

Shared Mobility

Uber: Uber, an on-demand ride-sharing company, has leveraged technology to improve the safety of women riders and women driver-partners-before, during and after every ride.

Integration with Delhi Police's HIMMAT app and Kolkata Police's BONDHU app, the riders can now connect with the Police directly in case of an emergency. New technology has enabled Uber to build safety into its service from beginning to end: before a rider even gets into the car, throughout the journey and after they have reached their destination.

Moreover, the in-app emergency button is another effective measure towards ensuring rider safety, by providing rapid response to Uber riders. Uber's specially-trained incident response teams are available around the clock to handle any urgent concerns that arise during a trip.

Shuttl: Shuttl, a smart bus-based mobility solution is built to take the pain away from your daily commute and reduce congestion on roads.

Shuttl's SAFE solution includes several features, like face recognition software, GPS tracked and geo-fenced routes. The Shuttl buses are equipped with a physical and app-based SOS and panic button and unlike other shared mobility platforms.

Shuttl's Home Check feature initiates a confirmation call that ensures that the passengers have safely reached their destination.

Smart Navigation solutions

Google maps: Google Maps is known as one of the best navigation apps present, also, it has been the sole leader for a long time. This application provides various information like expected time of arrival (ETA), real-time traffic, nearest hotels, police stations, petrol pumps and so on, along with best routes for travel.

With Google maps, women can keep track of their own location and know exactly where they are heading.

Safetipin: Safetipin, a crowdsourcing app, enables the user to check the safety of a particular place. There are various parameters on which the safety of a place is calculated like lighting, whether the location is deserted, are many women seen on the road, how is the walking path, how close can public transport be found.

The app has other notable features which allow a friend or family member to track your location. This is beneficial for women who are going to a place for the first time or women traveling alone at odd hours during work. The user can also upload pictures and share their experience while visiting a particular part of the city which can be beneficial for other future visitors.

With this application, women can record instances of harassment and security hazards, including broken street lights, open sewers and so on.