Page 50 - TT mag April 2024 Digital Edition

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Catering to the different needs of women

Sustainable Urban Mobility

How do women citizens commute in an urban city? It is crucial to look at
the travel pattern and mode choice of women, primarily when nearly half
of the population in India is represented by women. Also, women travel
distinctively different from their male counterparts. Recently, a research
study funded by DULT, Bengaluru, was conducted to understand the
issues and challenges faced by urban women while adopting sustainable
transport, Focus discussions were also carried out with different groups
of women (white collars, marginalised section, students, walking
disability group, visually impaired students group, homemakers and
entrepreneurs). Dr. Meghna Verma, Associate Professor, Head-Centre for
Sustainability, Ramaiah Institute of Management, Bengaluru, highlights
some of the findings.

he insights from the Again, due to absence of safe to low-income group. For visually
discussion have been first/last mile connectivity, the elder impaired women, the absence of
quite alarming. Both members in the family accompanied safe tactile paths and sound-based
the working middle to by homemakers find the PT highly information system including signals
high income women inconvenient. The non-availability at junctions make their commute
Tgroups: white collars of safer footpaths often leads to unsafe and inconvenient. They have
and entrepreneurs, find the city injuries to elderly family members. to rely on others for information
transportation services highly Their mobility gets either highly while commuting in the city, making
inconvenient and thus rely more on restricted or limited to small spaces them more vulnerable.
their personal vehicles for their daily in and around their homes or they
commutes. The sustainable mode have to be dependent on cabs or There is no information display
options like public buses and metro personal vehicles. for women with hearing disabilities,
services are not adopted for work and city public spaces lack the basic
and personal trips due to poor or The three other groups belonged ramp facilities to cater the need of
no first/last mile connectivity, non- to the marginalised section of women with walking disabilities.
reliable bus services, and incomplete women out of which two groups The signal timings at the junctions
network coverage in the city by the comprise of visually impaired girl are not sufficient for this section
metro services. students and working women with of society. These constraints clearly
walking disabilities. Marginalised give a picture of most of the cities
Girl students belong to an sections of women have been in India.
aspirational society that is created captive customers of BMTC buses.
by successful marketing campaigns The long work commute requires Thus, sustainable mode choice
by the automobile industry. Most access to public amenities like is mainly restricted to captive
of the students are wanting to drinking water facilities and toilet women commuters due to financial
own and use personal vehicles, access. But discussion insights reveal constraints. With time, more women
specially cars, the very moment that absence of these facilities will join workforce, and it is imperative
they can afford. Home-makers find leads to severe health issues in the that the city infrastructure and
public transport services extremely long run. Metro services are not services are built and designed for
inconvenient as the frequency of affordable to them. easy adoption of public transport for
buses are reduced in non-peak women. Campaigns like Atmanirbhar
hours, when homemakers perform Education opportunities, career Bharath or Viksit Bharat@2047 can
most of their tasks such as progression, social life and health are be made successful when equal
shopping or hospital visits or highly compromised by the women opportunities are available to all
recreational activities. with disabilities who also belong citizens in terms of mobility. TT

50 TRAFFICINFRATECH / April 2024 / www.trafficinfratech.com