Catfight Chaos For Lady Bus Travellers

Every day beautician Arlene Macasaquit prepares herself for a struggle as she wakes up to go to work using the public bus.

Quickly dressing up and barely having time to eat breakfast, she runs to Satwa bus station to catch the bus that goes to her workplace in the Mall of the Emirates.

As she arrives, she is faced by more than a dozen women who have the same intention in mind: fighting off the other women to win a seat. Only 12 of them will get one.

When the driver opens the doors, a shoving match erupts among the women.

Those who win reach their destination on time; those who don't have to wait for the next bus, making them late for work.

All this because of limited seats allotted to women.

"I always get pushed around and banged on my shoulders whenever I try to get in the bus. It's an everyday catfight," said the 45-year-old Filipina.

"I wake up two or three hours early just to get to the station so I won't be denied access," said Jamie Lynn, a 24-year-old cashier from the Philippines who also works at the Mall of the Emirates.

She said she barely has time to eat, and cannot even grab a bite from a nearby cafeteria.

"If I go away from the bus queue, I'll never be able to reach my workplace. It is hard to explain everyday to my boss how I wasn't let onto the bus," she said.

Other women agreed, saying that drivers usually don't allow women to stand in the bus when there are no more places to sit.

Annabelle Bonite, 26, said she would "gladly stand for an hour" to get to work on time.

"Standing is much better than waiting at the bus stop all day long hoping that the next bus will come. At least I can be assured that I'll reach work or home on time," she said.

All seats taken

Public buses have 12 seats blocked off for female passengers. There are 50 seats in a bus and according to the sign inside the buses, they allow about 35-38 male passengers to stand, except for some which say the bus has 49 seats and allows 30 standing passengers.

* Will you wait in the summer heat for a bus? Vote in our poll.