ZURICH, Switzerland — Talk about convenience. In an effort to make legal prostitution safer for johns and sex workers, and keep hookers out of the center of the city and residential neighborhoods, local Swiss authorities are set to launch drive-in sex chalets.
Nine garage-style structures in a former industrial zone will debut this month to the tune of £1.5 million. The love shacks will be open daily from early evening until 5 a.m.
Affectionately dubbed ”sex boxes,” the wooden drive-ins were approved by residents last November.
Patrons reportedly will drive in past a checkpoint and follow a marked route past a line of 40 hookers where they’ll pick their favorite and negotiate a fee. Thecustomers can then do their thing viewing safe sex wall posters.
The sex workers are required to buy an evening “work ticket” for about £3.50, and they must register with a health insurer.
No pedestrians or motorcyclists will be allowed in the area, and each shed is equipped with panic alarms for both the johns and hookers.
Once opened, Zurich men will no longer be allowed to solicit sex workers outside the group of boxes or two other approved zones.
"We want to regulate prostitution because until now it was the law of the jungle," Welfare Department official Michael Herzig told The Telegraph.
"It was the pimps who decided the prices, for instance. We are trying to reach a situation which is better for the prostitutes themselves, for their health and security and also for people who live in Zurich," he added.
