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New mobile app to show 'safest way home'

Dave EdwardsYorkshire, York
DAVE EDWARDS/BBC Two women stand on the pavement in a street in York, looking at a mobile phone.DAVE EDWARDS/BBC
The app uses data from a range of sources to plot the "safest" route

A phone app has been launched showing people the "safest" walking route, based on factors including street lights, CCTV and crime statistics.

The Safest Way app is available in York, London and Northern Ireland, with developers hoping to expand it further across the UK.

It is free to use, with no registration required, and is part-funded by Ordnance Survey.

The co-founder of the app said the technology should make people feel more confident and reassured on nights out.

Alesja Gilvear, said the idea came from a night out when she and her best friend went to a concert.

"We used one of the normal navigation apps, looked up the journey from the car park to the venue and some streets had no lighting at all," she explained.

"I said to my friend, lighting infrastructure is publicly available data, so why can't an app tell us the route isn't well lit?"

"My friend joked 'why don't you build one then'."

The app was launched three years later.

DAVE EDWARDS/BBC A woman looks at the camera. She has dark hair, glasses and a neutral expressionDAVE EDWARDS/BBC
Christina Moore has had unpleasant experiences on nights out and says she sometimes avoids going out because of worries about how she'll get home

Christina Moore, from York, said when she first downloaded the app she noticed it recommended different routes to those she would usually take.

"York is a really nice place, but sometimes the fear of how I'm going to get home can prevent me from going out," the 26-year-old said.

"I've had unpleasant experiences with people who are quite drunk in town, trying to take photos of me, shouting at me, someone's grabbed hold of me."

Sherrie Wood, from the Kyra Women's Project in York, said: "We have to think about what's well lit, is it safe to go past lots of drunk people, is it safe to nip through alleys, you know, we're conscious all the time about people behind us."

"There are little dark alleys, there are areas that aren't very well lit, there are times of night when it's really quiet and places where our members have said they feel quite scared getting home, so this app is a really good idea."

DAVE EDWARDS/BBC A woman looks at the camera. She has dyed pink hair and a neutral expression.DAVE EDWARDS/BBC
Sherrie Wood from the Kyra Women's Project in York says women often feel scared when walking home alone

Earlier this year a YouGov poll suggested 88% of women feel unsafe walking alone at night.

Alesja Gilvear said the majority of their users were women for "obvious" reasons.

"Of course the problem of safety is relevant for men and women, so this app is for absolutely everyone who wants to feel more confident when they walk around."

Safest Way A screenshot of the Safest Way app. It shows what it says is the safest route for a journey through York city centre.Safest Way
The app uses data on streetlighting, CCTV and crime statistics to plot what it says is the safest walking route between two points

An app to report street harassment was launched in York and North Yorkshire in 2024.

At the time, the deputy mayor for policing, fire and crime, Jo Coles, said: "The mayor and I are determined to ensure everyone in our region feels safe but we know that too often, for women and girls in particular, the streets, town and city centres don't feel safe and many incidents go unreported."

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