Uber Partners Kolkata Police for Quick Access to 'Bondhu' Citizen-Safety App

App-cab operator Uber Monday announced a partnership with Kolkata Police to allow quick access to 'Bondhu' (Friend), a citizen-safety mobile app of the city police, through the Uber app.

"The Bondhu app allows users to connect directly to the Kolkata Police's control room in case of any emergency," according to a press release issued in Kolkata by Uber.

"With this partnership, Bondhu will now be accessible to all riders and driver partners of Uber in Kolkata," it said.

The release also claimed that since its launch on June 22, 2017, around 40,000 people have downloaded the Bondhu app.

"Bondhu app has been an integral technological innovation in providing instant help to our citizens in distress across the city. We have now streamlined the process of providing safety via Bondhu app which makes it easier for our citizens rather than key in the control room number," additional commissioner(I) of Kolkata Police Vineet Goyal said.

"The integration of the Bondhu App is a big step towards further strengthening the safety net available to our riders and drivers," said Uber's general manager at Kolkata, Arpit Mundra.

The first phase of the partnership will see Uber developing a permanent in-app access for Bondhu, including a link to download it from the app store, while the second phase will allow users to directly access the Bondhu app from within the Uber app.

The third and final phase will involve an Application Programme Interface (API) integration between both the apps, the release said.