Can you go home safely at night?

Posted by Md Khann on March 20th, 2020

axis, buses, carpooling: services for women who do not use cars are at the center of controversy. We followed three girls at night on their way home. The smartphone tight in the pocket, the bag glued to the body, the sustained step and the gaze fixed on the ground. For women who do not have a car of their own, returning home late in the evening is often made up of walking routes and well-marked rituals. In our country we have to deal with unobtainable or too expensive taxis, services of carpooling operational only in large cities, rare and semi-deserted night buses. Definitely better in some European cities. In Berlin, for example, a switchboard puts you in touch with other women who travel by car, willing to give you a ride home with a cost that slightly exceeds that of the bus.

To understand how the services in Milan, Bologna, and Rome work, we followed three girls who, after going out with their friends, went "hunting" for vehicles and passages to return home. Here is their story.

Margherita, 18 years old, a high schooler

00 hours With Cecilia and Camilla we went to eat something in the area of ​​Corso Garibaldi, but before returning we planned to stop at the Lambrate brewery, where there are two of our friends. We are close to the taxi stand in Piazza XXV Aprile: there is a stationary car, we take it on the fly. The restaurant is about 4.5 kilometers from where we are, we pay 15 euros, which divided by three is 5 per person.

1.25 hours One of our friends lives here in Lambrate. To accompany it we take the Radiobus Q39, the night minibus that can only be booked to move within some neighborhoods of the city. If we had to move from the center to here we could not have used it. The last ride starts in minutes and it's late to book, so we reach the end of the line at Lambrate station. The vehicle leaves punctually at 1.40, two people go up with us and two others on the way, everything is very quiet. Our friend gets off in via Rubattino, we stay on the bus and go back to Piazza Bottini.

1.55 hours From Piazza Bottini we call a private car with Heetch, the carpooling app that I have already downloaded. I enter the starting and arrival addresses, a few seconds pass and the cost of the ride is displayed on the phone (6 euros for 2.5 kilometers), the car model, the driver's name, the photo, and the number phone. Time 5 minutes and Giovanni arrives, in his fifties, friendly. He takes us to our destination traveling at a calm pace, the car is comfortable and we are at ease. We pay it on arrival, in cash. metro cab wood green

Services in Milan

Taxi You can call him with a unique number (027777), by dialing those of the cooperatives (024040, 026969, 028585 the main ones), or by using the Mytaxi app. The nightly rate starts at € 6.50 and is € 1.09 per kilometer. Radiobus It is a night minibus service that serves 14 neighborhoods of the city from 10 to 2. It can be booked by calling 0248034803 to be picked up at the nearest stop. You pay the ticket at the urban rate. Info on atm.it - ​​travel with us - neighborhood radio bus. App Heetch finds you the closest car and calculates the rate in real-time. It only works at night: the cost of a run of about 4.5 km is 8 euros (hitch. Com / it). With ZegoApp, however, you can ask the community for a ride by dividing expenses (zegoapp.com/it).

Maura, 23, studies science and nature management in Bologna

11.15 pm We leave the house, which is already late. Tonight there is the rock music festival at the Tpo, the social center of via Casarini. There are no direct buses outside Porta Lame and the fastest way to get there is by taxi. A few steps from via Mascarella, where I live, there is the parking lot via Indipendenza. We are lucky: a car is already there. We go up and in a few minutes we are at the destination, the taximeter marks 7.50 euros for a run of about 2 kilometers.

2.30 hours We are at the exit of the Top. In via Massarenti there is a friend's party, but it is on the other side of the city and to get there we still have to take that taxi. I call 051372727, I wait for 10 minutes, then the recorded voice tells me that it is impossible to contact the operator. Let's try another number, then with the Taxiclic App, but the answer is the same: there are no taxis in the area. At 3.15 a message on the smartphone announces the arrival of the car in 4 minutes. The journey is about 5 kilometers, at the end of the journey we pay € 14.10, but the taxi driver is kind and doesn't make a fuss about the receipt.

3.33 hours When we arrive the party is already over, it's time to go home. Via Massarenti passes the 61 at night, which connects the neighborhood with the center, but we don't want to wait for him on the street, so we use the Tbus app, which I already have on my mobile phone: the app tells me that at the nearest stop, the Triachini, 61 will pass at 3.45. We say goodbye quickly and go out if we lose the race the next one will be after almost an hour. The vehicle arrives on time but half-empty, two men sleep on the seats at the back, some boys get on without making a ticket, but nobody annoys us. We get off after 6 stops, we are again in the chaos of the university area, now walking home is not a problem.

Services in Bologna

Taxi Two cooperatives that manage the service in Bologna, Cat (0514590) and Cotabato (051 372727 or the Taxiclic app). For a distance of 3.3 kilometers, about 10.50 euros are spent at night (info: cotabo.it/ or taxibologna.it/). Private cars Rental services with drivers are widely used in Bologna. Among the most well-known Cosepuri (cosepuri.it) and Cabautonoleggio (www. Cabautonoleggio. It /) which carry out the night service by reservation. With Cosepuri, the cost of a 3-4 km night ride is around 16 euros. App The Tbus app allows you to know bus timetables and routes and to know how many minutes the bus you are waiting for will be at your stop (thus.it).

Bianca, 20 years old, studies modern literature in Rome

00.15 hours I am with a friend at the AsSaggi coffee shop in San Lorenzo, a neighborhood very popular with my peers, and we decide to reach other friends in the area of ​​the Ostiense clubs. The distance is about 7 kilometers: we will take a night bus to the Colosseum and then the metro B, to get off at the Basilica of San Paolo.

00.25 hours At the stop in via di Sardi we wait for the night N10. The Probus Roma app that I downloaded to my mobile phone warns us that 33 stops are missing on arrival, but it does not give us waiting times. We take it which is almost one o'clock. Onboard there is only a sleeping bum, we sit next to the driver. In 13 minutes we are at the Colosseum metro.

1.15 am The quay towards San Paolo is deserted. A group of guys on the other side of the tracks annoys us, but no security appears. Fortunately, the metro arrives in 3 minutes, and there are people on board. In 10 minutes we arrive at our stop.

2.30 hours We leave El Chiringuito, a place a few steps from via Ostiense, and call the taxi for the Per Lei service, 0635701. They answer us immediately and in 4 minutes the taxi arrives. The meter, however, already marks 10.50 euros and to get home to Santa Maria Maggiore, more or less 7 kilometers, we will spend 20. When we pay, the 10% discount for single women is not applied to us.

Services in Rome

Public transportation Atac currently has 28-night lines. Metro It connects only some areas and closes at 11.30 pm on Fridays and Saturdays at 1.30 am. Taxi There are 800 cars until 2 in the morning (at 3 on the weekend), 400 after. The 3570 Cooperative offers the “Per Lei” service to single women, with a dedicated line and a 10% discount (from 1 to 5, www.3570. It). Chiamataxi di Roma Capitale offers a 10% discount to single women (22-6 hours) and to young people leaving the partner premises on Friday and Saturday (www.060608.it). App Move to Rome and Probus Rome to find out the routes and waiting times of the buses. Call xi 060609 directs the call to the local column or to the nearest operator.