Women-only cab service by women drivers in Gurgaon

Gurgaon was set to join Delhi and Mumbai with a cab service for women, driven by women — an initiative of the district administration aimed at keeping women commuters safe.

Under the plan, 50 Tata Nano vehicles would be on the road within 100 days, all driven by women. The administration would ask MNCs and call centres to tie up with the service for picking up and dropping their women employees — which would also help the women drivers repay their vehicle loans and add to their family incomes, according to Deputy Commissioner T.L. Satya Prakash.

The service was to have full police support, a dress code for the women drivers, and an emergency helpline the drivers could call for help. The hope was that it would both generate employment for educated unemployed women and help curb crimes against women.

One caution from the report: women-only cab services tend to cost more than regular fares — and in Delhi, the higher pricing had already contributed to some women-cab companies shutting down. Safety, as ever, came at a price.

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Based on reporting by The Hindu, February 2015.