Shuttl is trying to be the safest commute option for the working class

Travelling within the city is a bane for all especially those who travel long distances for work.

While women are increasing joining the workforce, their daily commute is still a tall task. While many companies provide women safe shuttle service between their homes and office, the majority is dependent on using either public transport or taxi services like Uber and Ola for their daily commute. While these services are convenient, they aren’t quite foolproof when it comes to safety as rape cases are reported even as cab operators claim to be more vigilant. From mob lynching to chain snatching, everyone who travels in public transport has to increasingly be careful on the road.
To hopefully make roads safer, Shuttl, which is India’s largest app-based bus service platform has introduced ‘Shuttl S.A.F.E.’ (Secure Anxiety Free Experience) - a project which provides multiple safety checks to every commuter through embedded technology features that also ensures responsible behavior by its bus drivers.

An in-house creation by Shuttl’s technology team, Shuttl SAFE is designed with Safety and Emergency tools for the commuter which will ensure safe travel within Delhi-NCR. The project provides the following Safety and Emergency tools for its commuters. BEFORE BOARDING SHUTTL SAFE

• Face-based check-in - a seamless, magical boarding experience, along with authentication to ensure safety for both driver and consumer. This feature provides details of ID, allowing only authorized drivers to operate thus bus and on the commuters side, it ensures that only validated, genuine commuters to board the bus
• Alcohol detector - The bus ignition is linked with a tech-based alcohol detection test which ensures zero incidence of drunk driving

DURING THE RIDE

• SOS and Panic button on the Shuttl App helps the commuter trigger emergency response, when in danger plus a physical panic button is available on each Shuttl SAFE bus
Live CCTV recording has auto alert feature which alerts the aggregator if anyone inside the bus is in danger

AFTER DE-BOARDING

• Homecheck, a call-back confirmation to ensure that she has reached home safely

The safety of the customer doesn’t stop just in the bus but by the above feature also goes beyond where a user’s journey is tracked on-request right down to her final destination.
Amit Singh, Co-Founder of Shuttl told Business Insider, “With 20,000 completed rides and 450 buses, we are trying to make public transport convenient for all. As our last passenger gets dropped off at latest 11 PM, we wanted to enable a great experience which is not tainted by worry or boredom. Our prices for routes typically start at Rs. 49 and go up to Rs. 89 which is affordable for most. With an assured seat, the customers only tend to gain from this service.”

Singh also assured that the prices of the daily pass will not be affected as these costs are a part of customer acquisition for the company.

Shuttl SAFE is also equipped with productivity tools for the commuter such as Shuttl TV, with exclusive content by Shuttl that engages the commuter while travelling to work. All seats shall be provided with earphones for the commuters to experience engaging content on Shuttl TV. Thus, controlling sound-levels within the Shuttl thereby taking care of the commuter’s privacy where she is also free to engage in any other personal activity without any disturbance. In addition to this, free WiFi will be available that allows commuters to read, socialize, shop and manage their personal tasks when travelling. Ride-share is also another new feature that Shuttl has launched with SAFE where the commuter can share their ride details with a friend or a family member who can then track their respective rides.

All Shuttl buses will be equipped with these features and would be rolled out in phases on all Shuttl routes by the end of this year starting with the safety features.