Gender and Socially Inclusive Urban Transport: Issues and Initiatives

JEFF TURNER Consultant

Gender and Social Inclusive Transport Workshop

24-25 May 2012 ADB HQ Manila

The views expressed in this paper are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), or its Board of Governors, or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this paper and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. The countries listed in this paper do not imply any view on ADB's part as to sovereignty or independent status or necessarily conform to ADB's terminology.

What do we know about the differences in how men and women travel across cities?
83 per cent of poor women in Chennai walked to work, compared to 63 per cent of men. 8 per cent of men cycled compared to only 1 per cent of women In Chengdu, 59 per cent of the women surveyed walked, while only 39 per cent of the men walked. 32 per cent of men and 19 per cent of women cycled. In Dhaka, 70.6 % of women workers made one to two trips per day, 7 % made three to four trips per day, 85% of male workers made one to two trips per day and 14.3 % made up to three to four trips per day. ADB research in Yerevan, Armenia showed that women spent between 20 minutes to 1, 5 hours a day on the Metro (while for men its 15 40 minutes) Also showed women relied more on off-peak and peripheral public transport routes.

How do we design urban transport infrastructure that reflect the needs of different social groups?
Walking is a very important mode for women but also for commercial freight distribution system. Research in Jakarta found that women had design issues with new suburban rail systems around:
Handles in trains Height of step into trains Safety of access to and within stations Need for integration of rail infrastructure with surrounding informal economy

Source photos: (top left and right) T KRUGER and K LANDMAN (2007); bottom righ Author: bottom left (Maurice Koop at http://www.flickr.com/photos/mauricekoop/311344940/

How do we design urban transport infrastructure that incorporate social inclusion?

Engagement of users groups led to:
Synchronize the platform height with bus floor height to achieve level access Hinged manual ramp in the bus deployed to bridge the gap Bus stops to have ramps, tactile paving, Braille route and information signage

How do we operate urban transport services that reflect women's needs?

There have been a number of women-only carriages introduced to rail based services across the world. Women-only rail services have spurred very mixed reactions Some societies view them as positive thing, however, concerns were raised about the need to empower women in the promotion of such measures and NOT seen as the locking away of women passengers.
Source: Peters (2011)

How do we operate urban transport services that reflect women's needs?

Mexico City introduced women-only buses. 22 vehicles operating 3 routes across the city every day. Dhaka currently operate 6 buses on 3 different routes A challenge to move beyond just being a token service. Public sectors role in regulations around reserved seats for women within the mainstream system, the pricing structures and planning may have greater impact. The importance of integration between formal and informal public transport is key.

Source: Top Peters (2011) & Bottom Rahman (2010)

How do we encourage more women into the urban transport workforce?

Increasingly, new transport systems such as Metros and BRT in places like Ahmedabad are being used as opportunity to change the gender composition of the transport workforce.
Source: Top Peters (2011) & BRTS Blog India http://bestmumbai.blogspot.com/2009/10/ah medabad-brt-gifts-first-woman-driver.html