GangUP: A safe travel solution for university commuters

With rising security and safety threats in Dhaka city, a team of students from Brac University, including Fahim Ahmed, Mahir Abdullah, and Monish Chanda Rudra (Juniors, CSE), in collaboration with Shahriar Ahmed Shovon (Daffodil International University), have developed GangUP. The app allows students to connect and form “gangs” for secure travel between home and university, reducing the risks of solo commuting with features such as gender preferences and suitable timings.

Robberies and assaults have been on the surge, which was the primary concern that led Mahir to convey his idea to Fahim. They began developing the app on February 24th, and within March 1st, they launched it. Over 3000 students have officially registered, receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback and reviews.

Fahim explains, “Most ride-sharing apps out there are designed solely based on the functionality to share the fare. With our app, the main goal is traveling in reliable groups from the same university.” To enhance collaboration, users may also ask others to join their gang. Moreover, with encrypted end-to-end messages and personal details encryption, users’ safety and data privacy are ensured.
One of the challenges they faced early on was identifying various extensions of student email addresses for verification purposes, and ensuring privacy with ID scanning and other security issues. The team is also looking to collaborate with lawyers and university authorities for setting protocol standards, as well as add hotline numbers and map features among other upgrades.

Till now, GangUP has expanded to 20 universities, including BracU. Though currently they are only focusing on Dhaka, they are contacting and collecting information from the outskirts as well as regional cities such as Chittagong and Syhlet. 

GangUP stands as a quintessential initiative amidst turbulent times of rampant crime during late hours, addressing the risks students face when commuting home at night.