Women-Only Buses In Mexico City A Huge Hit

After a week of trial runs, Mexico City's transportation authority, the RTP, formally launched a public transit program on January 21 to exclude men from riding certain city buses designated as women-only.

According to the city's English language daily, The News, the innovative plan will provide an exclusive service to women and children under the age of 15. The trial period involved both an assessment as to the quantity of city buses required on major routes and a revision of schedules in order to ensure the maximization of what is increasingly become a service in high demand. The women-only buses have been reportedly well-received. The project has been so successful that since its inception no more than a week ago, many female passengers have been requesting that even more “harassment-free” buses be made available, as reported by the news agency EFE. The provision of these buses aims to address the ubiquitous problem of sexual harassment on public transportation throughout the city. Women taking advantage of the new service were reportedly to have told EFE that “it offers greater security, confidence and comfort during the ride” and that “the measure is an excellent idea for avoiding harassment and disorder” from male passengers. Numbers provided by the RTP indicate that approximately 15 million women ride city buses on a regular basis. This of course is a sizable segment of the ridership and it is expected that this recent initiative will draw back disgruntled female passengers. Routes involved in the program thus far include the popular tourist thoroughfare, Paseo de la Reforma, and the busy Central Axis route. In response to the demand, even more trial runs have taken place over the last week which seek to extend the routes covered to include locations that are outside the city center but are still within the limits of Greater Mexico City. This is not the first gender-focused initiative on the capital's public transportation system. For some time now, the city subway system has reserved two of its cars for women at rush hour, while municipal officials are currently looking into the feasibility of arranging for 50 exclusive female-passenger taxis to be driven by women, according to EFE. To date, there has been no public criticism from men on the initiative, nor does it appear that male passengers have been tremendously inconvenienced by the reshuffling of buses and bus schedules.