Women-only passenger car? Hong Kong minister says 'not appropriate'

MTR and local franchise bus operators rejected the proposal for gender-specific zones inside the cabin to combat indecent assaults on public transport, arguing that limited space and potential impacts on passenger efficiency make the measure unfeasible.

In response to lawmaker Ambrose Lam San-keung’s question, Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung cited the MTR as saying that introducing women-only or men-only compartments would affect management of passenger flows, and it would be operationally difficult for commuters to follow, especially during peak hours with high levels of congestion.

For franchised buses, Tang said that due to high occupancy rates during peak hours, it is difficult for the buses to create dedicated areas, and that passenger compliance is not guaranteed.

Indecent assault, which is punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment, accounted for 7 percent to 21 percent of crimes on public transport in the past five years, according to the government.

In the first five months of this year, police received a total of 141 related reports, accounting for 14 percent of the total number of offences occurring on public transport.

(Katrina Tong)