Rawalpindi Traffic Police has launched the installation of QR panic buttons and GPS tracking systems across public transport vehicles in the city, aiming to strengthen passenger safety and improve emergency response times for the millions of commuters who rely on buses, wagons, and rickshaws for daily travel.
According to a police spokesperson, the rollout of the CM Punjab QR Panic Button system has formally begun across Rawalpindi, with Chief Traffic Officer Farhan Aslam directing traffic officials to ensure the technology is installed in buses, wagons, rickshaws, and other categories of public transport vehicles operating within the city. Under the system, passengers will be able to instantly contact police and Safe City authorities during emergencies simply by scanning the QR panic button, which transmits the passenger’s live location and the vehicle’s details directly to law enforcement agencies, enabling a significantly faster response compared to conventional emergency reporting methods.
Officials said the initiative will also improve monitoring of public transport operations more broadly and support investigations into accidents and other incidents involving public transport vehicles. The GPS-enabled network underpinning the system is expected to provide real-time vehicle tracking while enhancing overall commuter security, giving authorities continuous visibility into the movement and status of vehicles across the city’s transport network. Chief Traffic Officer Farhan Aslam said the technology would play a key role in protecting women, students, and the millions of daily passengers who depend on Rawalpindi’s public transport system, and confirmed that citizens can obtain QR panic buttons free of charge through the Public Safety App and the Safe City website.
The Rawalpindi rollout follows a similar initiative introduced earlier in the month covering ride-hailing services across Punjab, indicating a province-wide push to standardise passenger safety technology across multiple categories of transport rather than limiting it to a single mode. Traffic police and the Punjab Safe Cities Authority are also running parallel awareness campaigns to educate the public about how to use the system and the benefits it offers, recognising that adoption and effectiveness depend heavily on commuters actually understanding and trusting the new safety mechanism rather than treating it as an unfamiliar piece of technology.
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