v) Communication and feedback system
a. Increasingly emergency telephone numbers and complaint numbers are being displayed in buses. However, there is a general lack of information pertaining to routes and schedules, real time information about bus arrival, or an effective communication and feedback system. (Women) passengers tend to be unaware of existing or new safety initiatives undertaken by bus authorities.
b. Global Positioning Systems can be used to provide real time information on bus location and times at bus shelters.
c. Increasingly CCTV cameras are being installed in buses, stations etc. From 1999-2001, around 255 million USD were spent to install CCTV cameras in town and city centres, car parks, crime hot spots and residential areas in the United Kingdom. However, studies revealed that they were most effective in reducing crime in car parks, small and insignificant in city centres and public transport. Thus the efficacy of CCTV cameras in reducing crime must be evaluated before it is replicated at a city-wide scale.
The measures above indicate some areas of intervention for integrating gender within bus-based public transport in India. However, they must be supported by a robust institutional structure where the police, municipal corporation and transit authority work with civil society organizations (across income groups). Transport for London (TfL), the agency responsible for operating London’s public transport network and main roads, created a Women’s Action Plan (2004) and Gender Equality Scheme (2007-2010) to promote equality within its public transport system. TfL held consultations with 140 women’s groups in London and prioritized five broad areas of concern. These were accessibility (i.e. availability, vehicles integration, barriers to travel and infrastructure), real and perceived levels of safety & security, affordability, information and employment (i.e. equal pay, recruitment, retention, flexible working and workplace culture). TfL’s initiatives are considered the most comprehensive efforts by transport operators to respond to the needs of women’s riders.
Sonal Shah
Architect-Urban Planner