Though no formal announcement has been made yet, it has been confirmed that Kozhikode will soon have Shetaxi service under the aegis of the Kozhikode Municipal Corporation’s Kudumbasree CDS.
“Yes, we will have Shetaxi. In fact, an amount has been set apart in the Plan fund for the project. But the details are yet to be finalised,” Kudumbasree Project Officer M.V. Ramsy Ismail said.
Shetaxi, hailed as a project “of the women, for the women, and by the women,” is a fleet of taxi cabs owned and operated by women, exclusively for women commuters. The fleet consists of custom-made standardised vehicles of Maruti Suzuki, incorporating advanced technology to ensure safety and security of women. The 24*7 service is monitored at a central control room. Each vehicle has facilities to control speeding, sudden-break, and sudden turn; safety meter; emergency alert switches; emergency alert mobile app; GPS; precision metering systems; and in-car LCD systems and maps of all emergency response systems such as police, ambulance, workshops and puncture stations, Fire and Rescue Services, safe-night shelters for women, and hospitals.
Those who want to hire the cab may contact a service number, upon which they get a unique identification code. They will be informed about the vehicle that will pick them up.
Launching the Kochi wing of Shetaxi, the Chief Minister had promised separate parking areas for the fleet in all cities. The venture has inspired governments from other States and countries to think along the same lines.
Launched in Thiruvananthapuram in November 2013 with a fleet of five cars, its main objective is ‘safe, secure and responsible travel for women.’ Shetaxi is a project of Gender Park, under the Department of Social Welfare.
