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TRAVEL SAFELY ALONE AS A WOMAN

TRAVEL SAFELY ALONE AS A WOMAN

The most important tips for Public Transport

Supra-regional trains or public transport bring us in metropolises very quickly from A to B. To be on the safe side for your travels with Public Transport:

 

1.Handbag

In recent years, our handbags have generally become even more valuable. It is not uncommon to find two mobile phones, a tablet or laptop, several credit cards, ID, a camera and cash. You can usually tell this from the outside of our handbags by their weight and size. If it is then still a particularly beautiful handbag, it easily becomes the object of desire of unpopular contemporaries.

First of all, you should photograph or scan all important documents such as ID cards, credit cards etc. at home and store the information on an external hard drive or in the safe at home. The annoyance of losing or stealing a handbag is big enough. Having all the information at hand to block cards and reapply for identity documents is very tedious. In this case the loss is stress enough. Therefore, take the time for this important documentation right next weekend.

Before every trip, consider whether you really want or need to carry all these valuable things in your handbag. If you are also travelling with a suitcase, a bag that can be carried across the body with a shoulder strap is useful to have at least one hand free. Granted, fashionably not super-elegant, but helpful on escalators and treadmills, when boarding trains, buses or trains.

2. Shoes

Who does not love a high heel? Unfortunately also trick thieves who pretend to lose their grip on the escalator in front of you and drag you to the ground – in this case on the moving escalator. Accomplices then steal your handbag and/or briefcase within seconds. Not a robber’s pistol, but unfortunately in many large cities the order of the day. With high heels you mark yourself as a victim, because in these elegant shoes you have little grip on escalators or normal stairs. It is therefore always worthwhile with Public Transport to travel in flats and only change to high heels on arrival at the location.

3. Gloves

Even in warmer temperatures, this is a very useful accessory that can be used to bravely access and hold on to trains that sway jerkily to the side again shortly before the station entrance, on endless escalators or in narrow exits from semi-historic trams.

4. Gear

An upright, confident gait with a relaxed position of the arms is always good – especially in train stations.

5. Ticket & Timetable

You should organise both if possible before departure. In most cities, day tickets are relatively cheap, so you don’t have to rummage for your wallet or credit cards in front of ticket machines in foreign cities. You should also download the Timetable to your mobile phone in advance or have it with you as a printout.

6. Camera running

Wait at platforms, whether on subway or other trains, deliberately in areas where cameras and/or emergency calls are installed, which are well lit and where you have enough space to take evasive action. You should never stand too close to the edge of the platform. Groups of people who look trustworthy are good to have around. You should avoid people who seem suspicious to you or who are in an argument. Especially in the evening, a defensive spray and a mobile phone in your jacket pocket makes additional sense. At home, familiarise yourself with the emergency function of your mobile phone so that you can be on the phone in the
be able to react quickly in an emergency or call for help for others.

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7. Courtesy

Politeness is wonderful in normal everyday life and makes life easier and so much more pleasant. If your feeling tells you that you do not feel comfortable in one situation, you get up without a word and go somewhere else. In conversations in which you are unintentionally involved, your voice should be clear, loud and firm. Female restraint or misunderstood politeness is out of place here.

8. Night drives

Sometimes you can’t avoid having to take a very late train. On these trains, which are often sparsely staffed, you should choose a car or seat that is close to the driver or conductor’s compartment – at least until all means of transport are running driverless. In most cities, a licensed taxi is a good investment at late night.

9. Women only

In some countries there are train compartments that are exclusively for women. Do not try to initiate a reform process in these countries by ignoring them, but take advantage of this offer from the train companies. There are plenty of other opportunities to become politically or socially active.

Figure: ‘Over New York’ B&W, 1963, Melvin Sokolsky, at Hotel Edition NYC

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