Single-sex buses in Mexico City

Photo: Jennifer Szymaszek for The New York Times

To combat rising tides of sexual harassment incidents in Mexico City’s public transportation system, the city has implemented a new program that will weed out passengers based on their sex. On some bus routes, only women are allowed to board the bus, leaving men — good and bad ones — waiting in the dust.

The New York Times reports:

One place they are not is on new women-only buses that Mexico City began running in January to reduce the harassment. With pink placards and insistent drivers who growl at any man who tries to step aboard, the buses are quickly becoming a hit among women.

“Woo-hoo!” bellowed Catalina Garduño the other day as man after man was turned away from the bus she was riding. Her outbursts animated the other women on board, who joined in the celebration. As they rolled along Paseo de la Reforma on their way home from work, the atmosphere resembled a ladies’ night on wheels. [...]

Still, the experiment cannot solve the underlying problem of how the sexes interact in the metropolis. Only four of the city’s bus routes have women-only buses. That number will rise to 15 in the months ahead, but coed buses will remain the rule in most areas. [...]

“This is not against men,” insisted Martha Lucia Micher Camarena, the institute’s director general. “This is positive discrimination that responds to the demands of women. And it’s also for men because it protects their daughters, sisters and mothers.”

Watch the New York Times video about the story.