Amid taxi conflicts, govt pitching Kerala Savaari as safer alternative

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With tension persisting between online taxi-hailing platforms and traditional drivers across major tourist hubs in Kerala, raising concerns over passenger safety, the state government is turning to the upgraded app Kerala Savaari 2.0 as a comprehensive alternative. The home-grown, government-owned ride-hailing platform is being strengthened with new features including integration with Kerala Polices safety application, Pol-App, to ensure safer travel for women. An official associated with the project told TNIE that the Pol-App integration will be rolled out by December. Women riders will be able to add three emergency contact numbers while booking a ride, and they can instantly share their travel experience with their close contacts through an in-app chat feature. If a passenger feels unsafe, she can trigger an SOS alert to Pol-App. This service is already operational, and integrating it into Kerala Savaari will significantly enhance passenger safety. Once an SOS is sent, the passenger receives a call within 45 seconds and her location is immediately shared with the police. Depending on the complaint, strict action will follow. The motor vehicles department will initiate procedures to suspend the drivers licence and the vehicles registration if required, the official said. To curb fleecing of tourists at major destinations, the authorities are also planning to introduce eco-tourism packages within the Kerala Savaari app in collaboration with the forest department. Kerala Savaari 2.0, relaunched recently, has already prompted other online taxi aggregators to reduce fares, officials said. The service is currently active in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram corporations, with around 19,820 and 4,200 drivers onboard respectively. The private aggregators are exploiting both drivers and customers. Many drivers no longer trust those platforms and several trade unions have expressed willingness to migrate to Kerala Savaari, the official said. The platform is currently recording around 2,500 bookings per day, but officials want to scale this up quickly to ensure that each driver gets at least four rides a day. The government has urged all government employees to use the platform to provide feedback and help fine-tune the app. We aim to increase ride volume, popularise the platform, and make Kerala Savaari error-free. Our goal is to make it foolproof by next March, the official added.