Moving towards an inclusive public transport system for women in the South and Southeast Asian region

Figures & data

Figure 1. Steps for literature review on women’s travel needs and government documents on the inclusion of gender in transport policies.

Table 1. Mobility barriers for each dimension.

Factor	Mobility barriers	Key references
Dimension: Socio-cultural barriers
Patriarchal society and disproportionate household dynamics	gender discriminatory culture low access for women normalisation of physical assault low social acceptance of women travelling alone regulated movement of women restrictions of women to travel together with other men in Muslim countries disproportionate share of household's transport burden	(Adeel et al., 2017; Mahadevia & Advani, 2016; Neupane & Chesney-Lind, 2014)
Hostile bystanders’ attitude	impatience of co-passengers men discounting sexual harassment and enjoy seeing women sexually harassed minimal bystander intervention women unwilling to seek help from bystanders unwilling to give changes to those who do not have exact fare	(Lea et al., 2017; Valan, 2020)
Blame for victimisation	women blamed for victimisation based on their clothes, time and place of travel self-blame by women for victimisation	(Lea et al., 2017; Masood, 2018; Neupane & Chesney-Lind, 2014)
Dimension: Operational performance
Inconsistency and uninformed trips	unreliable PT lack of schedule information inconsistency in departure and arrival times longer waiting times than usual disturb trip chaining	(Iqbal et al., 2020; Turner, 2012)
Higher fares	unregulated and excessive proportion of fares compared to women’s income women forced to use costlier informal modes than formal modes of PT	(Anand & Tiwari, 2006; Rahman, 2010)
Availability	Low frequency of services and limited route coverage of formal modes over-crowded PT unmet travel demands	(Agrawal & Sharma, 2015; Kranrattanasuit, 2017; Malik et al., 2020)
Accessibility	bus does not stop properly to get on or off the buses poor accessibility to formal PT services because of poor first and last mile connectivity poor multimodal integration	(Iqbal et al., 2020; Rahman, 2010; You, 2019)
Operators’ behaviour	operators’ hostile attitude and poor driving skills drivers/conductors do not allow women to enter buses during peak hours operators are often the perpetrators for harassing women passengers	(Malik et al., 2020; Rahman, 2010)
Dimension: Infrastructural limitations
Design	unsafe and poorly quality of infrastructure Inaccessible vehicle design such as high floor buses, high handles, lack of space to keep luggage/baby prams unsuitable design of stations, difficult for women to navigate, manoeuver level changes through stairs	(Kranrattanasuit, 2017; Verma et al., 2020; You, 2019)
Maintenance	poor maintenance of infrastructure unsafe waiting areas due to non-operational CCTVs, poor lighting	(Bachok et al., 2014; Malik et al., 2020; Sham et al., 2013)
Dimension: Sexual harassment
Role of operators	insufficient security provisions from operators	(Gekoski et al., 2017; Hoor-Ul-Ain, 2020; Natarajan, 2016)
Insufficient patrolling	unsafe waiting at shelters at nighttime isolated bus stations and unstaffed stations	(Natarajan, 2016)
Forms of sexual harassment	physical harassment such as voyeurism, groping, unexpected touching, etc. other forms of harassment such as stalking, aggressive staring, profane language, etc.	(Dhillon & Bakaya, 2014; Murali, 2020; Neupane & Chesney-Lind, 2014; Tripathi et al., 2017; Valan, 2020; You, 2019)

Table 2. Key policies and tool kits by international organisations.

Year	Name of policy/tool kit	Policy/objectives	Citation
ADB
2008	The Long-Term Strategic Framework of the ADB 2008–2020	ADB will promote gender equity … such as improved access for women and girls to education and health services, clean water, better sanitation, and basic infrastructure.	(Asian Development Bank, 2008, p. 15)
2013	Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Operational Plan, 2013–2020	Opportunities will be explored … to shorten women’s travel time and lighten loading burden while enhancing their mobility, safety and economic empowerment.	(Asian Development Bank, 2013a, p. 26)
2013	Gender Tool kit: Transport Maximising the benefits of improved mobility for all	Identification of social and gender issues in transport Identification of gendered travel needs and patterns Women participation in policy making and planning Promoting women employment in transport sector Gender responsive infrastructure design Collect gender disaggregated data and monitoring Gender capacity building for transport authorities Encourage policy making towards informal PT	(Asian Development Bank, 2013b)
United Nations
2009	The Inland Transport Committee and gender issues in transport	Identification of gendered travel patterns Exploring the implications of urbanisation … on travel patterns of women. Gender sensitisation and capacity building of policy makers and planners at all levels in transportation departments Engender national budgets	(UNESCAP, 2008)
2015	Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)	SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls SDG 11.2: By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible, and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding PT with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons.	(United Nations, 2016)
World Bank
Institute of Transportation and Development Policy
2015	Mobility for all: A strategic transportation plan for Ranchi	Provide mobility for all people, regardless of their age, gender, financial and physical abilities Identification of gendered travel needs and patterns Safer and accessible infrastructure design	(ITDP, 2015)
2017	Women and Transport in Indian Cities	Identification of gendered mobility patterns Goal setting, preparation and implementation of Gendered Mobility Plans Monitoring and evaluation of mobility plans Promote gender responsive PT routes and frequencies Increase Women’s Safety Improve access to information of PT schedule Engender PT Authorities Safer Informal transport for women	(Shah et al., 2017)
International Transport Forums
2015	Mobility for all: A strategic transportation plan for Ranchi	PT scheduling for wider range of needs. informal transport with safer regulations and technologies	(Ng & Acker, 2018)
2017	Women and Transport in Indian Cities	Gender-wise equal perception of safety and security when travelling Gender-focused safety measures in public transport legal framework in place that protects women in public space public awareness campaigns on personal security of women in transport Number/percentage of urban planning strategies that take into account gender-specific needs and interests. Equal accessibility of services, by gender Number/percentage of stations that provide facilities for parents and care-takers Family-friendliness of public transport vehicles Participation in the transport workforce, by gender Gender-wise education and training for transport careers	(ITF, 2022)

Figure 2. Summary of key findings and identified knowledge gaps.

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