Page 63 - TrafficInfraTech Dec-Jan 2019

MOBILITY

paradigm shift from private transport to under vulnerable timings so that their
public transport. travel is safe. The third is concentrating
While talking about women and on the overall system.
mobility, it is essential to look at the role We can also take preventive measures
of women in economic development. and do incident management & post
When proper opportunities are not incident operations. The preventive
given to women to participate in in the methodology could be a CCTV network,
economic development of a country, we it could be the cops in decoy. The NGO’s
are losing a lot. We are losing more than and the government can work together to
300 trillion dollars globally for not having address what is making this behavioural
given that opportunity for the women. difference or the behavioural change from
Basically, 9 out of 10 trips taken up city to city. Why something is tolerated in
by women in a city are either in public one city and something is not tolerated in
transport or on foot. So, this 9 out of 10 another city. In Mumbai, harassment to
trips is a fact of constraint, not a fact of women in public transport is not tolerated
opportunity. So, how do we move this by anybody; they will immediately object,
fact of constraint to fact of opportunity? react, respond, and do something about Expanding beyond
How do we turn this upside down so that it. But in other places I don’t see the same the notion of safety;
we give more opportunities to women thing happening
to be mobile and go to the workplace Prof Amita Bhide: In the context of transport, mobility and
for the economic development of the Mumbai city, which is overall known in the overall city design
country? How do we shift this 9 out of 10 some ways for being safe for women, a contribute to how women
trips to different modes of transport so mode of public transport – the suburban
that they are more secure, comfortable, rail -- has played an extremely typical role can access the city.
fresh and not fatigued, when they go to in creating that overall ethos of safety Services of suburban rail
their workplace? for women has engendered the entire
The trips taken up by the women are system of transport. are not geared both to
much complicated as they do more trips Secondly, over the years, by sheer growing number as well
to do multiple tasks before reaching neglect of attending to the improvement
their destination. Often, these trips are of infrastructure and associated aspects as changing patterns
very short and small, therefore forcing we have made this extremely safe, of women commuters.
women to walk more. highly gendered form of public transport
We are living in a huge combination of which has been the lifeline of women in Increasing numbers of
matrix of contradictions. We have 25% Mumbai, into a fairly unsafe and insecure women work shifts, non-
of private vehicles occupying 70% of the zone. regular hours and it is
carriageway and 50% of the trips are on TISS did a study about two years ago
foot and on cycles without proper cycle using a sample of over 3000 women necessary to provide for
track or footpaths.People are willing to across the three main suburban rail lines them.
use the public transport but the number of Mumbai and in addition to that we
of buses are coming down. All these conducted 20 focus-group discussions
contradictions are there simultaneously with different groups of women. Prof Amita Bhide
as challenges to all of us.
The entire safety grid starts unravelling
Women’s preferred mode of transport when you look at the geography of
is public transport but do they feel safe Mumbai city. The island city has the
in buses or waiting for public transport best connects between mobility &
during night? We need to look at infrastructure and the best safety
redesigning the entire apparatus. experiences. Here, rail services are
One way is to concentrate only extremely well embedded within other
on those who are actually causing services such as BEST buses and give an
inconvenience to women. The second end to end public transport experience.
way is to isolate or insulate women Stations are also embedded within

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