When you're flying solo late at night, hitching a ride with a male cabbie doesn't always seem like a safe bet. With the advent of women-only taxi services over the past few years, however, women finally have more options that don't come with a side of anxiety. As someone who has been sexually assaulted by a cab driver, I know how unexpected and horrifying the experience can be. Every ride is a roll of the dice, and while many come out unscathed, others aren't so lucky.
It would seem logical that the advent of services like Uber would make things better safety-wise. But despite all those personalized tracking functions, there have still been a number of rapes reported, reminding us that yes, it's important to be a little paranoid about which car you choose to set foot in, particularly after dark. One of the best ways to avoid these situations is of course to use a lady friendly car service, or now, bus service, like the newly implemented She-Bus in the Kerala state of India. After Jyoti Singh's brutal gang rape on public transportation in New Delhi and other incidents like it, this innovation is a necessity. Here are five female only transportation services around the world, endeavoring to provide peace of mind (and body) for female travelers.
1. She Rides
Proudly billed as a female, minority-run company, NYC-based She Rides has the dual goals of providing female riders peace of mind while empowering women to take the wheel. Only 5 percent of 60,000 drivers in the city are women, so they have a way to go to gain equality, but every pink-striped car counts.
2. Pink Ladies
A non-profit "community transport service", UK-based Pink Ladies goes above and beyond what regular cabs do, offering female drivers on call for school runs, elderly care, and regular door-to-door service. And, as you might have guessed, all their vehicles happen to be hot pink.
3. Pink Taxis
In Mexico, the Pink Taxi company pairs female drivers with female passengers to address the growing problem of harassment in public transportation. In business since 2009, Pink Taxi de Puebla provides licensing and training for its female drivers as well.
4. She-Taxi
The government of the southern Indian state of Kerala launched a 24-hour all women service called She-Taxi to provide women and their families a safer option for transportation. Commenting on its innovative business model, The World Bank lauded She-Taxi and offered to support its next initiative, She-Bus.
5. She-Bus
After the success of She-Taxi, an all women private bus company, She-Bus, is launching in India. The buses will be low-to-the-ground, wheelchair accessible, and provide service between select destinations in Kerala, India to start. Here's hoping other countries around the world will take note, so more female travelers can get to their destinations safely.
Images: Asim Bharwani /Flickr; sheridesnyc.com; Instagram
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