Cologne launches night-time taxi vouchers to help women get home safely

A total of 1,500 vouchers worth €10 each became available last week for women and non-binary people across the city in the pilot project inspired by similar initiatives in other German cities.

According to city authorities, the vouchers are aimed at all women aged 16 and over. "The term ‘woman’ includes people with the gender entry ‘diverse’ or ‘female’," says the city. 

In the pilot project phase, a maximum of three vouchers per woman could be issued. The vouchers, which were snapped up in just three days, will be valid for use up to August 15th 2025. 

In an information sheet on the initiative, the City of Cologne said the aim is to enable women to "travel safely and cheaply by taxi at night between 10pm and 6am". The night taxi service can be used on any day of the week.

"With this measure, we are taking targeted action against a specific danger that particularly affects women," the city added.

The voucher is offset against the fare of the taxi ride. For instance, if the journey costs less, the value of the voucher is adjusted accordingly. If it costs more, €10 is deducted from the total fare and the remaining amount is paid by the passenger. 

Even if several women share a taxi, only one voucher can be redeemed per journey, the city points out. The city is working with Taxi Ruf Köln eG on the project so the vouchers can only be redeemed with this provider. 

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Project 'does not discriminate against men'

As the vouchers address the specific safety needs of particular groups, they can not be used by or issued to men. 

The city said: "Women's night taxi vouchers do not discriminate against men, as they are based on the specific safety needs of women, especially in the late hours when the risk of harassment and assault is statistically higher.

"This measure is a targeted solution to counteract a clearly defined risk situation that predominantly affects women. Such programmes are not intended to exclude men, but to provide a protective measure based on real inequalities."

Authorities pointed out that taxis are still available to men and there is no price increase as a result of the voucher system. 

Recent data shows that violence against women in Germany is increasing.

An analysis by the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), released in November found that over the course of 2023, 360 women were killed by men, often in domestic situations.

Overall, the number of women victims of domestic violence rose by 5.6 percent to 180,715 last year. In the previous year, the number of reported offences was 171,076.

The figures from a report called ‘Gender-specific offences against women’, also show reported sex offences are going up. In 2023, 52,330 women and girls were victims of sexual offences - 6.2 percent more than in 2022. According to the figures, half of the victims were under the age of 18. The majority of suspects (around 65 percent) were German nationals.

Offer 'well received'

The project launched following a resolution passed by the Equal Opportunities Committee in June. The committee funded the vouchers with a cash injection of €15,000.

Chairperson Teresa De Bellis-Olinger, of the CDU, said she was pleased with the high demand. "This shows that the offer is certainly well received," she said.

The project is inspired by other German cities. Night-time taxi vouchers were first issued in Munich in 2020 - and the initiative has since become permanent. At the start of 2024, the subsidy rose from €5 to €10.

Other German cities, including Stuttgart, Mannheim and Freiburg, have also introduced the service.