I think it's a nice idea, but I wonder why it's only explicitly extended to women. When I lived in Ottawa they had a similar service but I don't recall it was gender-specific, and a couple of times I (a man) requested a different stop if I was in an isolated area at night. When the TTC specifically states this is a service for women it does two things in my opinion: 1) Reinforces the idea that women as a group are somehow in need of protection while men are not, and 2) Prevents men who also feel vulnerable from using this service.

I've been considering writing a letter to the TTC about this, but I wonder if there are things I'm not considering that might change my mind. I'm also interested to know how this policy applies to transgendered people (F to M, M to F and intersex). I've never requested a different stop on a Toronto bus, so maybe the bus drivers will also do this for men, but if they do it isn't advertised that I can see.