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General Overview

Type of stakeholder

EICS Framework

Region of Reference

Africa
Asia
Australia
Europe
North-America
South-America
World

Description

This intervention pertains to the provision of female-only rail carriages on regular services, sections of vehicles (bus services) and special women-only services (such as taxis and rickshaws), sometimes called ‘pink’ services. The concept of separating men and women is not new. 'Ladies Only' compartments were first introduced in 1874 in the UK by the Metropolitan Railway. The uptake for these compartments was quite low and the practice soon became to reserve a compartment on request, rather than all the time.

The women-only compartments were officially abolished on British Rail trains in 1977. However, there are a large number of females only public transport services globally. However, no law legally forces men not to ride in “women-only cars” or punishes men for riding in them. There are a growing number of female taxi drivers providing women-only services and a recent report indicated that more females would use the services if they were able to choose a female driver.

Facts/Illustrations/Case studies

The Cairo metro and rail service have women-only carriages, introduced in 2007 when Egypt saw the first signs of its sexual harassment problem. A public awareness campaign has been implemented (with funding from the EBRD development bank) and sexual harassment was only cited as a criminal offence in 2014.
Mexico City introduced metro carriages for women and children in early 2000 and all subway trains now reserve the first few cars for women and children under 12 years old, while the rest of the trains are mixed. The city has women-only taxis (with a woman driver and an alarm button) and buses (introduced in 2008) called the “pink line”
In Malaysia pink, women only buses were launched in 2010, and in Manila, in the Philippines, there are also women-only compartments on the light rail services. Taiwan experimented briefly with women-only carriages in 2006 but dropped the idea after a three-month trial. Kathmandu trialled women-only minibuses in 2015 but they were not financially feasible, although they have been reintroduced in January 2020 (4 microbuses on one route at peak hours).
Since 2014, the State Railway of Thailand has women only carriages on 3 of its most important routes, including on sleeper services. They also have extra staff to help women during the day or night. They were launched after a 13 yr. old girl was raped and murdered on an overnight train in 2013.
Jakarta introduced female only train carriages on the state-owned railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) in 2012 with orange and pink-seated carriages at the front and rear of trains. But the scheme only lasted for seven months before being scrapped as while rush-hour mixed trains were packed, the female-only carriages were otherwise largely empty and the company had little choice but to convert them back into mixed spaces to accommodate passengers, despite the women expressing their support for the measure.
Delhi has led the charge on addressing sexual harassment since the gang rape and death of a student while travelling by bus in 2012. India has both women only carriages and some women-only trains in Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, and Chennai (metro and suburban /city trains). The coaches have brightly coloured livery and male inspectors guide men away from the carriage doors. If any don’t comply, they’re forced to pay a fine and can be taken to a police station.
Female-only carriages were first introduced in Japan in 2000, before the New Year’s celebrations, as a way to stop sexual harassment. Eight private train operations and Tokyo’s two underground companies launched the carriages, identified by pink "Women Only" stickers printed in Japanese and English. Station staff stop men from trying to enter them.
The number of female passengers in Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea) increased from 21,000 to more than 600,000 passengers after the introduction of Women-only bus services, and the number of female passengers continues to rise.

Types of Impact

To/from the stop/station/rank✕
Waiting for train/bus/paratransit✕
In the vehicle✓
At interchanges✕

This intervention is only effective on board the vehicle.

Day-time travel✓
Night-time travel✓
Peak-time travel✓
Off peak-time travel✓

Impacts are generated whenever transport services are provided.

Bus✓
Train✓
Rideshare✓
4 wheelers informal✓
3 wheelers informal✓
2 wheelers informal✓
Cycling✕
Walking✕

All motorized modes of transport are impacted by this intervention.

Girls✓
Boys✕
Adult Women✓
Men✕
Elderly Women✓
LGBTQI+✕

This intervention only impacts female passengers, regardless of age.

Resources

Monetary Resource Requirements
Some capital investment and additional operational and security costs are incurred to provide this extra service.
Capital Cost Requirements Operational Cost Requirements
Non-Monetary Resource Requirements
Existing skills should be able to deal with upscaled services. Can be implemented swiftly. Limited political support is required.
Skills Time Political Will

SWOT Analysis

May be more appropriate in some countries and cultures than others
Is often seen as a solution by politicians and the general public without a good understanding of the operational consequences

Supports segregations rather than behaviour change
Does not address the core issue
Perpetuates male dominance

May alllow women access to education and employment as they would otherwise not be able to do.
May be more suitable for some modes rather then others (e.g metro and rail services)
Can be useful for more personal travel such as taxis and on-demand/ hail services

Must be part of a wider programme for success
Should only be considered a temporary solution under certain circumstances.
May reduce women's overall mobility and agency if they can only use the lower frequency women- only services

Effectiveness

Although there is sufficient literature on the topic, results in various locations and applications differ, hence the moderate level of confidence. Generally, females and governing bodies perceive it to be an effective measure.

Perception by (female) passengers
Perception by governing bodies
Level of confidence in these ratings

Implementation

Implementation timeframe

0-1 year✓
1-3 years✕
>3 years✕

Timeframe to realise benefits

0-1 year✓
1-3 years✕
>3 years✕

Scale of Implementation

National

Regional

City

Station or
Suburb

Ease of Implementation

There are several operational aspects to consider and it is not straightforward to implement. It is also crucial that women’s overall mobility and agency to move in public space is not further constrained or restricted with the introduction of segregated carriages or services.

List of References

Asia

1. Horii, M., & Burgess, A. (2012). Constructing sexual risk: 'Chikan’, collapsing male authority and the emergence of women-only train carriages in Japan. Health, Risk & Society, 14(1), 41-55.

2. Jafarova, T., Campbell, S., & Rojas, W. S. (2014). AZE: Rapid assessment on sexual harassment in the Baku metro rail - final report. Philippines: Asian Development Bank.

3. Joyce, C. (2005, May 15). Persistent gropers force Japan to introduce womenonly carriages. The Telegraph [online].

4. International Human Rights Watch . 2017 . Pap- ua New Guinea https://www .hrw .org/ world-report/2017/country-chapters/ papua-new-guinea

5. Christy A . 2019 “Papua New Guinea – “Meri Seif” Women & Girls Safe Bus Transport Sys- tem” . Published in Women’s UN Report Network (WUNRN) 2019 https://wunrn . com/2019/12/118532/

South America

4. Dunckel-Graglia, A. (2013). Women-only transportation: How “pink” public transportation changes public perception of women’s mobility. Journal of Public Transportation, 16(2), 85-105.

5. Dunckel-Graglia A. (2013) ‘Pink transportation’ in Mexico City: reclaiming urban space through collective action against gender-based violence, Gender & Development, 21:2, 265-276, DOI: 10.1080/13552074.2013.802131

World

6. Okabe, C., 2004. Study of the ‘Carriage for Women Only’. Kurume Shin-ai Women’s College Bulletin, 27, 57–66.

7. Loukaitou-Sideris, A. (2009). ‘What is blocking her path? Women, mobility, and security’. In S. Herbel & D. Gaines (Eds.) Women’s Issues in Transportation: Summary of the 4th International Conference (pp 103-121). Washington, D.C.: Transportation Research Board.

8. Mungai, M. W., & Samper, D. A. (2006). 'No mercy, no remorse': Personal experience narratives about public passenger transportation in Nairobi, Kenya. Africa Today, 52, 51-82.

9. Women only transport - a solution to what end?

10. Driving towards equality – women ride hailing and the shared economy IFC 2017.

SHE CAN Tool