'She Taxi' will be extended to other cities in Kerala: Chandy

Kerala government will extend all possible support for the expansion of She Taxi project to cover more cities in the state, said chief minister Oommen Chandy.

Chandy, who was speaking at the launch of the women run and for women cab service in Kochi, said the state government had allotted special parking lots for She Taxis in the state capital.

She Taxi has grabbed the global attention after its successful launch in Thiruvanathapuram.

“Even the authorities in the UAE were actively looking at the possibility of similar cab services for women,” said minister for Panchayats and Social Justice MK Muneer, who presided over the function.

Initially, Kochi will have a fleet of ten cabs. Soon, we will have She Taxis in Kozhikode. We are planning to roll out 250 She Taxi cabs in all major cities across the state, he added.

The project, conceived and implemented by Gender Park, under the aegis of the department of Social Justice, is being extended to Kochi after its success in Thiruvanathapuram, where it was launched in November 2013.

The first women drivers of the cabs in Kochi received the keys from the minister for Public Works, VK Ebrahim Kunju.  Hibi Eden, MLA from Kochi, inaugurated the ‘She Taxi Club’, the latest addition to a slew of value added services offered by the cab facility that provides priority booking facilities, special travel packages among others.

The associates of She Taxi project include Maruti Suzuki Ltd, which is supplying the customised pink and white taxis, the Kerala State Women’s Development Corporation (KSWDC), which is providing financing support for the entrepreneurs and Techno park-based Rain Concert Technologies, which is handling the fleet operations and marketing through a 24-hour call centre in Kochi (accessible on 859 0000 543).

Women travelling alone or with families can dial the customer care centre, which will provide them with a unique identification code and the vehicle number on their mobile phones.

She Taxi joined hands with Federal Bank for banking services. All cabs are equipped with an electronic payment system allowing customers to pay using credit or debit cards or cash.  It has also partnered with Vodafone and yentha.com to introduce ‘Wish Box’, a value added service that facilitates internet browsing and online shopping besides a number of other in-car entertainment facilities.

The Gender Park will soon introduce a mobile application to enhance customer services. The cab is fitted with technologies including GPS, precision metering systems and in-car LCD systems.