Using a safety app to protect women and girls on public transport

A safety app ‘SafeUP’ allows women and girls to plan and share their journeys on public transportation with real-time arrival information

SafeUP is a new startup leading a community safety app which enables women and girls to crowdsource their safety and protect one another in real-time.

Their partnership with Moovit, which is a popular creator of an urban mobility app, will allow members to easily plan their journeys and navigate public transportation while sharing their safety status.

In honour of International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, this app design furthers safe accessibility to public transportation, with access to other additional opportunities for employment, education, social activities, and more to come.

“Women, girls, and the genderqueer community deserve the same opportunity to travel freely and without fear”

Nearly 50% of women feel unsafe walking and taking public transport

Women are more likely to walk and take public transport as their means of transportation, but, according to the ONS,  nearly 50% of women feel unsafe while doing so. The figure is even higher among females aged 16 to 34, which is currently at 60%.

The fear of physical or sexual violence in public spaces and when using public transportation are key factors that may limit the everyday movement of women and girls, who are the majority of public transportation users worldwide.

With Moovit’s advanced trip planner in the app, currently in use across UK and Israel, the trip planner will have multimodal journey planning with real-time arrival information.

The members of the app will be able to see Safeplaces, as well as members and guardians around them for a confidence boost on their way to/from the station, share their itinerary with their friends or family and tell them their estimated time of arrival, and can also request nearby SafeUP Guardians to accompany them at any point in their journey through video or chat.

Creating safer, more inclusive cities

Yovav Meydad, Moovit’s Chief Growth and Marketing Officer, said: “Feeling safe using public transit is a key factor in making it more accessible, efficient, and sustainable.

“But sometimes, specific modes of transportation or stations are avoided because women feel unsafe. We’re proud to partner with SafeUP so that they can offer their users reliable transit information that can be shared with family, friends, and SafeUP guardians so they can reach their destination with peace of mind and confidence.”

Neta Schreiber, CEO and co-founder of SafeUP added: “We are proud to partner with Moovit, to raise awareness of the challenges our community faces every single day in the UK, Israel, and across the globe – women, girls, and the genderqueer community deserve the same opportunity to travel freely and without fear.

“SafeUP is here in order to unite women under the common goal of mutual protection, safety, and empowerment. We are happy to have joined forces with Moovit to help improve access to transportation networks and create safer, more inclusive cities.”