Gender Equity in Public Transports- A Systematic Review

Keywords: Public Transport, Gender Equity,
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

There are barriers to equitable transport for all gender groups, especially women and non-binary groups in the public transport of developing countries due to the specific cultural and social norms that prevail in those countries. Gender differences have been observed in the comfort levels, safety concerns, mobility patterns, and travel stress of public transport services. Bearing these in mind, this systematic literature review aims at understanding the prevailing gender difference in perceived accessibility and service quality of public transport services. Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar have been used as search engines. Keywords such as “Gender and Public Transport,” “Women and Public Transport,” and “Gender and Metro Rail” has been used for screening the journal articles. Articles published in irrelevant fields, content, and non-English language have been excluded. Finally, 25 articles have been selected after avoiding duplication. Varied results have been found in different studies from all around the world. Most of these gender-related studies have been performed in the global south. Even though in most countries such as China, India, Netherlands, South Africa, and Mexico, women are not satisfied with public transport, women in Australia find public transport more cost-effective, safe, and environmentally friendly. However, in general, women are more concerned regarding the safety, security, and comfort issues in public transport, while men are more concerned regarding speed and technological advancements. Most of these studies consider gender as only male and female, whereas transgender or other gender groups’ needs, and perceptions have not been incorporated in these studies.