The eyes glued to the mobile screen, sudden drowsiness, look the other way ... It is curious that when a person needs a seat on public transport this seems not to exist. Nor does the person for the rest of the passengers. Therefore, and for women who need it, a new application has been launched in the United Kingdom: Babee on Board helps pregnant women find a seat on public transportation.
We know that a pregnant woman is not a sick woman, but also that in many occasions, especially in the final stretch of pregnancy, nothing is comfortable standing and less in a moving vehicle, so it is appreciated that you give up the seat . It is a matter of respect and education to try to make them more comfortable, if they wish. But, even in spite of their striking volume, they seem to be invisible to most passengers.
Technology has already made its attempts to give a touch to those people who seem not to realize that there is someone who needs the seat, for example in Korea Pink Light is a light that warns if there is a pregnant woman who needs a seat on the train.
Actually, Babee on Board consists of two complementary applications that communicate via bluetooth. Once the pregnant woman who wants it activates an alert, people close to the application receive a message saying that there is someone who needs to sit down.
The application that contains the alert button costs 3.99 pounds (about 4.64 euros), money that will be donated entirely by its developers to a children's charity. The reason to charge a fee is to prevent anyone from downloading the application and misusing it.
The complementary application that notifies passengers that someone requires a seat can be downloaded for free and will be activated automatically if a seat request is sent. Thus, the two applications work as a "walkie-talkies". At the moment, it is only available for Apple.
In the case of Babee on Board, it is clear that the people who receive the notice are quite aware in this regard, since they will have previously downloaded the application and with the mobile nearby (and bluetooth location services activated) will know when to stand up. But I fear that for the rest of the passengers these women will remain invisible, especially at rush hour.
In London, pregnant women traveling by subway can now get a free "Baby on Board", "Baby On Board" badge to make themselves more visible.
Now it remains to be known if many are willing to pay for having the new Babee on Board app to let you know when you need a seat in the subway. What seems clearer is that these mechanisms will become increasingly popular, if the level of general awareness about it, as it seems, does not rise.
Official Site | Babee on board
Via | BBC News
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