Integrating women’s concerns in public transport

Travel distances, times and cost

Women tend to take more and shorter trips at varied times, particularly during afternoon off-peak hours. In Delhi’s Sanjay Camp, 75% of women worked within a 5km radius whereas 75% men worked within a 12km radius. Lower income women use slower and inexpensive modes of transport to manage transport costs.

Safety, security and accessibility

Data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) show that the ratio of the crime rate in cities with a population of more than one million to that of the national average is 21:19. The proportion of Indian Penal Code crimes committed against women has increased from 8.8% in the year 2007 to 9.4% in 2011.

While increased attention to women’s safety has mobilized some action by bus transit authorities across India, these efforts need to be tied into a holistic agenda to promote women’s use of public transport by making it safer, accessible, affordable and convenient; and ensuring equal employment within the agencies.

Studies across cities reveal that access to public transport is characterized by poor infrastructure such as poor or absent streetlights, unusable pavements and lack of public toilets. Due to these conditions, a majority of the women faced harassment on the roads and around bus stops In Delhi. In contrast, in Mumbai, a study by the World Bank revealed that most of the women surveyed felt safe at all stages of the journey, except during boarding and alighting and within public transport vehicles during the peak hours.

Employment

There is limited gender disaggregated data available on employment in transport bodies, though anecdotal evidence seems to indicate that few women are employed in the transport industry. In 2010, women constituted only 12.5 % of the BEST Committee and one % of its engineers. When BEST attempted to induct women bus conductors, all of them requested to be shifted to desk jobs (World Bank 2011). Promoting gender equity within bus authorities and as a service mandate still remains elusive.