Recently, a spate of cases wherein safety had been jeopardised for women have been coming to light. With women taking to social media to narrate their ordeal how their cab drivers made them feel unsafe, here’s an initiative that may not solve the problem but certainly gives women the brief opportunity to feel safe.

At the Bengaluru Kempegowda International Airport, a special bunch of cabs driven by women exclusively for women has been launched all with the aim of ensuring women feel safe and secure while travelling, particularly at night. This was introduced by the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) and Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL).

This initiative includes female drivers who are thorough in a lot of languages, especially know the local languages and have learnt a few self-defence tactics in case it ever leads to that. The taxis will come with a few safety features, much like OLA and Uber such as the GPRS tracking system and an SOS switch in case of an emergency. The taxi’s prices ranges from Rs 21.50/km during the day (6 am to 11.59 pm) to Rs 23.50/km at night (12 am to 6 am), with service promising functionality for 24 hours a day.

This initiative is one of the few cab services brought out exclusively for women, with brands such as ‘Go Pink cabs’ and ‘She Cab’ coming into the fore. Several times, there have been cases of the taxi driver sexually assaulting, molesting or harassing female passengers with some cases as recent as last month highlighting how it’s still difficult for women to travel after dark.