Madrid creates 'Women and Safe Transport' Observatory

EMT Madrid – the municipal transport company of the Spanish capital – has established a "Women and Safe Transport" Observatory. The aim of the Observatory is to study the way in which women use public transport and then to identify and implement measures to promote the safety of women when they use public transport.

Alfonso Sánchez, EMT’s manager, participated in the Observatory's kick-off meeting. He encouraged those taking part to listen and to proactively consider the importance that women, as users of public transport, have in the mobility of the city.

On the one hand the Observatory aims to assess the situation of women as users of public transport to identify situations that may have a more direct impact on their safety. On the other hand, it aims to propose concrete actions to promote public transport as a safe place for women. The Observatory will hold at least two annual meetings coinciding with two particularly relevant dates, 8 March and 25 November, respectively International Women’s Day and International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

The Observatory is made up of a multidisciplinary team and brings together professionals with extensive experience, responsibility, and decision-making power in the areas of action in which both the study and the measures will be launched.

The initiative is aligned with the “Woman STEM Sustainability Mobility Chair” launched last October.

Article first published first at EMT Madrid on 25 November 2020.