Ayşe Hümeyra Atılgan
18 November 2016•Update: 18 November 2016
ISTANBUL
Women passengers in Turkey's largest city Istanbul will enjoy a new privilege in city buses as of Friday night.
Female passengers traveling on a bus after 10 p.m. will be able to ask the driver to exit the bus anywhere along the route, whether there is a bus stop there or not.
The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality approved the proposal, designed to cut women’s walking distance to their destinations.
The proposal came with the idea of maximizing safety by reducing the chance of assault.
The Istanbul Electric Tram and Tunnel Company (IETT), which operates public transportation in the city of nearly 15 million, said the new policy begins the night of Nov. 18.
"We are pleased and honored to support all acts of positive discrimination towards women," said an IETT statement.
Drivers on all the bus lines have been briefed on the new policy, the statement said, adding that it "will also add to our efforts to enhance quality of service."
The bus fleet in Istanbul has more than 5,000 vehicles serving the city's millions of inhabitants every day.
Among a wealth of options – including trams, subway lines, metrobus lines, ferries, and the under-the-Bosphorus-waters Marmaray – buses seem to be the most popular means of public transport, running from early in the morning to late evening on routes across the city.
*Ayse Humeyra Atilgan in Istanbul contributed to this report.
