In all societies, men have better access to superior transport, be it more regular use of the family car or disposable income to take public transport instead of walking. The lack of mobility generally, let alone poorer job and educational opportunities, plays an important and under-appreciated role in perpetuating the economic disadvantages of women.

Gender inequality in transport is a consequence of social organization and the outcome of differential access to economic, time and other resources. The greater domestic responsibilities of women, coupled with weaker access to household resources, have significant consequences for their transport an travel status.

In many parts of the world, women also face customary or legal restraints, their rights to travel or a particular mode of transport with violations often resulting in physical harassment. Personal safety and avoiding harassment are major preoccupations whether women drive, use public transport, cycle or walk. They are especially vulnerable to violent attacks or sexual abuse when transporting heavy goods or with accompanying children.

Traditional transportation planning, infrastructure design and management has historically been geared to servicing peak demand during rush hours and catering to those more traditional travel patterns of traveling to and from places of work in a regularized and structured way. Development projects all to frequently accept the immobility of women as a natural and unchangeable social state.

In cities of the developed world, travel patterns have changed drastically as more and more women join the workforce. In Europe, North America, Australia and Japan, travel by all modes, motorized and non-motorized alike, has doubled and even trebled in the past three decades. As women have increasingly joined the workforce, per capita income has risen while the time available for household chores has declined.

In these circumstances, workers are buying more outside services to meet their daily subsistence needs, such as child-care and meals, laundry and other services purchased outside the home. This has meant an increase in the number of non-work trips per person. It has also meant an increase in “trip-chaining” where a single trip outside the home (or the office) might have multiple destinations or stops leading to further increases in vehicle-kilometers traveled and exponential increases in emissions from the transport sector.

In many middle-income countries, particularly in Latin America, South and Southeast Asia and also in South Africa, motorization rates are even higher than those historically experienced in developed countries.

However, many studies show that at every age and every income group, women make more shopping and family business trips. In lower-income households where only one car is available, men tend to use the family car for work trips while women rely on public transport. Yet complex household responsibilities usually force women to make multiple trips, thus adding to expenses.

Access and Mobility Problems for Low-Income Women in Dhaka, Bangladesh During the International Decade for Women reserved seats for women (10 seats or so at the front) were established on buses in Dhaka. But if these seats filled then further women would usually be denied entry. Buses now have no reserved seats on the grounds of equality. However, women are now often not admitted to buses at all in peak times. Conductors and drivers were said to think that a woman takes the places of three men. Levels of harassment of women on the buses are said to be extreme. The alternatives, such as rickshaws or scooters are expensive. As a result NUK has found that many low-income women are walking long distances. NUK has also found that women tend to have to pay more for transport than men within the same economic group. With an increase of women’s employment and education, there is more need than ever for transport services for women. Information provided by Ms. Mashuda Khatun Shefali, of Nari Uddug Kendara (NUK) (Centre for Women’s Initiatives), Dhaka, Bangladesh.

In poor families, it is usually the male head of household who will use public transport leaving the women, who actually might earn more money for the family, to walk. The inequality in this arrangement is heightened when one considers that a bicycle, or other non-motorized mode of transport, might ease a woman’s travel burden. But in many countries cycling for women is culturally unacceptable.

Gender analysis thus needs to be incorporated into all aspects of transport development. Failure to produce transport policies that meets the needs of women has exacerbated social exclusion and environmental pollution. Much more research and thinking is required to provide a clearer picture of the day-to-day lives of women in the cities of developing countries, their mobility needs, their domestic and family responsibilities and their preferred work and leisure patterns. All these must be tied to their mobility needs at the local level.

Urban transport represents over 20 percent of total World Bank lending. Although roughly 50 percent of the client base is female, only 4 percent of projects actually have an explicit gender approach.

We can go the next step by taking this gender disaggregated data in terms of transport, women and economic development and incorporate it into transport infrastructure investment programmes. We must also ensure women are represented in urban transport planning from road boards to public transport user associations.

Brian Williams is a Human Settlements Officer and an Urban Transport specialist at UN-HABITAT.