Which Sociodemographic,In-Vehicle and Transit-Stop Attributes Influence Indian Women Commuters’ Safety and Security Perceptions of Public Transportation?

Abstract

With greater participation of women in the workforce and their consequent mobility needs, ensuring safety and security (SAS) while using public transportation (PT) remains a major challenge in strengthening gender equity in mainstream sectors, including transport services. This study investigated the challenges faced by women commuters in the PT system, focusing on transit stops and in-vehicle safety. We used a mixed-method approach to identify factors contributing to women commuters’ SAS concerns in the PT network. A survey of 583 randomly selected women commuters in Hyderabad, India, captured their PT-associated SAS concerns, including past harassment experiences. Two econometric models, binary logit and ordered probit, were utilized to analyze factors influencing transit safety and SAS at transit stops, respectively. A word cloud and content analysis investigated commuters’ statements on harassment experiences during PT trips. The results indicated that infrastructural characteristics such as the presence of CCTV and lighting at transit stops and in PT were the most important attributes influencing women’s SAS perceptions. Age, family opinion, police, and traveling in groups, particularly at night, had a significant influence on their perceptions of PT SAS. Buses were the most common location for physical harassment, particularly touching, and bus overcrowdedness was the main concern while using PT. The study indicates that ensuring PT SAS for women commuters involves multifaceted challenges, and highlights the need for planning agencies to adopt necessary enforcement features such as provision of CCTV, adequate illumination, increased police patrolling, and subsequently formulating operational policies considering the specific needs of women commuters.

Keywords

CCTV crime police public transportation surveillance transit safety and security

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