Security for women in public road transport in the country

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved setting up of a unified system at the national level (National Vehicle Security and Tracking System) and State level (City Command and Control Centre) for Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking of the location of emergency buttons in and video recording of incidents in public transport vehicles, in 32 cities of the country with a population of one million or more according to the 2011 census.

The implementation of the project will help in:

i)             Mapping of routes of public vehicles;

ii)       Tracking of vehicles on the route;

iii)      Highlighting of violations through visual and text signals;

iv)      Panic button alert to transport and police through visual, text and voice.

v)      Permit,   registration   and   licence  cancellation   based   criteria   for enforcement.

(vi)    Providing safety and security to women / girl child in distress in  minimum response time.

The total estimated cost of the project will be Rs.1405 crore.  The project will be implemented within a period of two years after allocation of funds to set up a National Level Vehicle Security and Tracking System and City Command & Control Centre with installation of GPS / CCTV / Panic buttons in public road transport.

The scheme for security for women in public road transport has been formulated with purpose of improving safety and protection of women from violence by using information technology in the following manner:

I. Tracking of all public transport vehicles:  This shall be done in accordance with Sections 72, 74, 75 and 76 of Central Motor Vehicle Act, 1988.   Defaults will be reported and updated on the data base of the vehicle.

II. Emergency button in all public transport vehicles: The button will generate an alarm in the system. For vehicles which are also provided with facilities for video recording, the City Command and Control Centre can receive pictures of actual incidents and raise an alarm with the nearest police and transport patrol to reach the bus.

III.Video recording in public transport vehicles with large seating capacity:  Incidents recorded will be kept for seven days in the on-board unit and can be used as evidence and arrest of accused in case of any incident.

Background:

Women play an important role in the economy, politics and social sectors of a country. People from smaller towns, including a large number of women, move to cities in search of jobs or studies. With increasing participation of women in the economic sphere, safer mobility of women is essential. As most people, particularly women and the girl child, cannot afford their own transportation, they depend on public transport.

The Justice JS Verma Committee constituted in December, 2012 to look into the possible amendments in the criminal laws related to sexual violence against women made various recommendations for public transport vehicles in its report.

The Report of Justice (Retired) Ms. Usha Mehra, Commission of Enquiry constituted under the Commission of Enquiry Act, 1952 to look into the incident of gang-rape and assault on a woman on 16.12.2012 in Delhi suggested measures for safety and security of women in the NCT of Delhi and NCR.

Source PIB