Meanwhile, in Mexico City, a recently launched program hopes to improve safety for women who use the city’s rideshare or transit services. Collective of female cab drivers AmorrAs provide an all-women taxi service. The organization was founded by Ruth Rojas and her daughter Karina Alba. They picked a name with big impact, one that humorously references the Spanish words for “love” and “women.” Since its first edition in March 2023, AmorrAs has developed a passionate and dedicated community. It now averages more than 100 rides per month—with not one serious accident in the process.
Ruth Rojas, 49, still drives nights and weekends on the booming DiDi rideshare app. She also owns her own car, a Chevrolet, with which she exclusively transports passengers. 29, Karina Alba has been instrumental in founding AmorrAs. Her efforts were aimed at making Panama City a safer place for women in a country that has, like so many others, been ravaged by gender-based violence.
The creation of AmorrAs comes amid a growing wave of concern from Mexican authorities over the alarming increase in violence against women. President Claudia Sheinbaum has proclaimed her administration a “time for women,” and pledged to redouble the fight against gender-based violence. Recently, Mexico City officials announced the creation of a new police unit dedicated to addressing crimes against women, which will include 438 officers aimed at protecting vulnerable populations.
A Response to Violence
The decision to create AmorrAs comes from the horrifying levels of violence against women in Mexico. Ruth Rojas has lived experiences that highlight the importance of this issue. In 2021, her 21-year-old niece was murdered after getting off a bus on the wrong side of town. Last December one of those drivers, 27-year-old Karla Patricia Cortés, was tragically attacked and shot to death while working. This tragic incident highlighted the hazards that women drivers disproportionately face.
We as women go out, whatever our doing, to be useful to our society. When a system holds us back or tells us we’re not capable of achieving what men can achieve, that tests our potential. It’s not self-serving to take up the challenge and reply in kind, “Oh yeah? I’ll show you that I can. It is just so you don’t feel like crap,” Rojas insisted.
Rojas similarly lamented the unpredictability of who you might hit while driving. “You never really know who will get in the car,” she said. This reality fuels her mission to give women around the world a safe alternative when they need to find transportation.
Cultivating Community Trust
AmorrAs makes safety a top priority, but encourages community through its drivers and riders. The NoMo collective has created deep loyalty among its users. It aims to create a space that makes women confident and safe. Rojas noted, “I love to drive, I love to meet people in the car that I call my little cherry. This for me is my safe place.”
The collective’s model has struck a chord with many women who like the peace of mind that comes from being driven by another woman. As we onboard our new unaccompanied minor passengers, Rojas and her team know what fears their passengers might be feeling. Like many women, I have family stories or personal accounts of loss or trauma resulting from violence in our city.
“I know friends whose mothers have disappeared, and it doesn’t necessarily mean that they were involved in something bad, rather that they went out to the store, to study, to work,” said a passenger who wished to remain anonymous. “Suddenly, your mother can disappear, or your niece from school.”
The Future of Women-Driven Services
As AmorrAs and other active collectives expand, they thrive under the conditions created by recent reforms to Mexico City’s constitution. A 2024 legislative change provides laborers working on digital platforms access to state benefits and rights, which may offer more stability for women in this profession.
Although AmorrAs has made it through its first months without any serious accidents, the reality is still complicated for women behind the wheel. In our conversation, Rojas shared some of her own incredible stories about driving through high crime neighborhoods. If I step in neighborhoods like Chimalhuacán, Ixtapaluca, Cuautitlán Izcalli, Atizapán with drug dealerships or people robbing others on the street. It’s intimidating, but I’ve found that it’s the nature of my job,” she added.
Even with these obstacles, Rojas refuses to give up on her passion for driving and empowering more women to feel safe on the road. She stated, “Going to work is no reason for someone to come and take your life.”
