For the first time in Turkey, a “pink taxi” — catering only to female passengers and driven by a female driver — hit the roads in February. The single cab, operating in the central city of Sivas, has been met with great interest by local women, while sending women’s rights groups up in arms.
The pink taxi is owned by local operator Gokhan Simsek, who obtained a license for his venture last month. The municipality not only gave it the go-ahead but got involved in its promotion with a grand inauguration ceremony. The new service, however, stirred passions in a society where the gruesome murder of a university student in a public transportation vehicle last year has left a lasting scar.