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This module examines transport systems around the world to establish what is important for transport users in general and how gender affects the ways users view transport. Ultimately, these are universal concerns. When gender- based needs are not taken into consideration, transport is inefficient and unsustainable. Urban transport systems are frequently overlooked in discussions of quality of life issues for city dwellers. Moreover, transport is often seen as gender neutral—a road or bus system benefits all equally. However, this isn’t a given. Urban transport systems are dynamic, influenced by society and influencing the choices members of that society can make. The objective of this module is to provoke thinking about the con- cept of gender in urban transport through two concepts—fashion and affordability. For too long, transport has ignored the needs of women in planning and design—assuming a purported neutral stance of benefits to all. By attaching fashionable to transport, the authors aim to highlight the feminine side of transportation demands, while recognizing that the success of any transport solution is that it is competitive.
Poor women and men do not travel less; they just travel under more duress and in worse conditions. They lack real options and the ones available are usually under-resourced, under- capitalized, and over-utilized. Women are usually the last to have access to the most modern and expensive (higher status) forms of transport. Men have to rely on dangerous and unreliable mass transit or paratransit. It is imperative that trans- port seriously addresses concerns for them—satisfying their consumer mobility needs with fashionable options that help them gain access.
Women are most concerned with the safety and personal security aspect of transport - a funda- mental and critical component to decision-mak- ing about transport. They may forego trips and seek less efficient and/or more costly alternatives when there is a perceived threat. Women, who are unequally affected by violence, are often prime targets of violent crime, and have different and greater safety needs than men. Men are more often the victims of road fatalities and injuries because they are more likely than women to be sitting at the driving wheel and more likely than women to be traveling.