Meri Seif — Women-Only Safe Bus Service, Port Moresby

A 2014 UN Women scoping study found that more than 90% of women and girls interviewed in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, had experienced some form of violence while using public transport. In response, the city's National Capital District Commission (NCDC), with UN Women Papua New Guinea and funding from the Australian Government (around PGK 6 million / USD 1.97 million via the UN Women Australia National Committee), launched the 'Meri Seif' ('Safe Woman' in Tok Pisin) bus service in 2014.

The buses are staffed by uniformed female crews, run to a fixed timetable — the first in Port Moresby — and give women and girls a dedicated safe space to travel and to raise concerns about violence and safety. From August to December 2015 alone, the pilot route between Gerehu and Port Moresby town carried 47,000 women passengers.

The service scaled steadily: from 1 bus, 1 route and about 21,000 riders in 2014 to 11 buses, 6 routes and more than 600,000 riders a year by mid-2019, according to UN Women Asia-Pacific reporting corroborated by independent coverage from ABC News Australia. The programme also runs alongside related safety work in Port Moresby's Gerehu and Gordons markets since 2011. It remains operated by NCDC as an ongoing public service rather than a time-limited pilot.

Read the full analysis: https://www.thenational.com.pg/new-bus-takes-meri-seif-fleet-four/