Understanding Urban Travel Behaviour by Gender for Efficient and Equitable Transport Policies
Gender is one of the key socio-demographic variables that can influence travel behaviour, but it is often the least understood. Understanding travel behaviour by gender will help better design transport policies that are efficient and equitable. Due to the gendered division of work in households, women often have multiple tasks and activities. As a result, women are more likely to have shorter commute distances, to chain trips, to have more non-work related trips, to travel at off-peak hours, and to choose more flexible modes. This study examines travel behaviour by gender in eight different cities, across three different continents, focusing on transport mode, trip purpose, travel distance and departure time for Auckland, Dublin, Hanoi, Helsinki, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Lisbon and Manila. The most common trends found in the cities are that women tend to travel shorter distances and prefer public transport and taxi services to cars more than men.
Discussion Paper 2018-01
Go to the ITF work on Gender in Transport page
Read: The Gender Dimension of the Transport Workforce (ITF 2020)
Policy Insights
- Public transport scheduling needs to consider a wider range of needs and preferences.
- Taxi and informal transit services require safer regulations and technologies.
- Gender analysis leads to effective and efficient transport demand management.
- Safety improvements are key to ensure optimal public transport use.
| Date of Publication | 2 February 2018 |
|---|---|
| Number of Pages | 20 |
| Document |
 urban-travel-behaviour-gender.pdf |
| Publication Type | Discussion Paper |
| Author information |
International Transport Forum
International Transport Forum |
| Publisher | ITF |
| Tags | Behaviour, Public Transport, Safety, Urban Transport, Women |