Constraints to Women’s Use of Public Transport in Developing Countries, Part I : High Costs, Limited Access, and Lack of Comfort
An overview of evidence on women’s travel behaviour and the barriers they face in accessing public transport in developing countries
Abstract
This brief, the first in a two-part series, provides an overview of the evidence on key features of women’s travel behaviour and the barriers they face in accessing public transport in developing countries, including affordability, frequency, coverage, and comfort. Women make more frequent, shorter trips with more stops along the way to combine multiple tasks. In contrast, men follow direct and linear routes. These patterns have important implications. As this brief shows, the cost and frequency of public transport affect women more than men, and given women’s income constraints, create trade-offs between travel and other economic opportunities. This brief also highlights how the current design of public transport does not accommodate the unique needs of women. Notably, coverage issues such as a poorly connected network, including last mile problems, limit women’s use of public transport and increase their reliance on private and informal modes of transport. Infrastructure design does not prioritize women’s comfort. Understanding the evidence on the challenges faced by women is a first step in identifying policies and interventions that could improve women’s accessibility.
This brief is the first in a two-part series. Part Two Constraints to Women’s Use of Public Transport in Developing Countries, Part II: Safety
This work is part of the ieConnect for Impact programme
Citation
Borker, Girija; Constraints to Women’s Use of Public Transport in Developing Countries, Part I : High Costs, Limited Access, and Lack of Comfort (English). Global Indicators Briefs; no. 9. Washington, D.C. : World Bank Group.