Hi,

I think travelling with groceries and bags challenge when walking doesn’t necessarly mean that women make more groceries than man. For example for me it’s a challenge because I am not so strong and get easily tired. Also because of health issues I am not able to carry heavy things nor walk long distances. I think it all depends on the person’s abilities and distances to the shops rather than split of task between genders.

I agree that harassment is an issue more for women than men when walking, especially in darkness.

I am surprised that women are thinking more of sustainability than men. But I guess it’s true as for me (woman) it’s also an important topic.

Corona safety was never an issue for me in the public transport and I have used it everyday along those 2 years and didn’t get sick so far. I think person can get infected everywhere by corona as well as any other flu-like illness. Probably comparing public transport to other modes,  it is more likely to get infected where there are more people per square meter.

I agree with the associations and challenges with traveling by private cars as men in the survey.

Inês, Portugal, 32 years-old, cyclist women
Sexual harassment is something I have experienced, and when I tell this to almost every man, they tend to ignore me, because they cannot understand or have empathy. It’s the same with other measures (campaigns about inclusion, quota system for all genders to be able to access the same positions/jobs). For them, all we need is cycle infraestructure (becasue that’s what they also benefit from).

Barcelona — My results were quite similar to the women represented in the study results presented in the video.

I from Peru, so I write about peruvians cities, but I live in Canary Island, so I write from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria too.

I have no doubt that the results are not very different in Latin America. Women have a preference for public transport, but not because they want to, but because they do not have more options. If there are cars in the family, they do not usually have more than 1 car at home, and who usually uses it is the man, in addition to having a driver’s license. About walking, we certainly walk more. To buy, to take the children to school, and all the mobility of care that can be imagined. There is a lot of culture in the neighborhood, and even the family usually lives nearby, so they move around on foot frequently. On the other hand, the survey indicated that women associate (now) safety against the corona with more relevance than men, and this may happen because women previously did not require or need the car to move since they moved in other ways. , until the corona arrived, and they stopped using public transport (as it happened). Therefore they gave more importance to using the car for safety against the crown. Men already used it so it is not necessary to give it relevance in relation to the preference of using the car. And if women had to travel by car, it was not necessarily driving, but as a companion, thus becoming more dependent on the car and the man who has to take her to their different destinations. The survey indicated, on the bicycle, that for men the bicycle seems more fun than it does for women, and this must be due to safety issues in every sense. The survey for women seems to them that speed is what they value most, unlike for men. Interesting. It is also interesting how it varies geographically that the vast majority of women associate the bicycle with sustainability much more than men. I understand that this must be for aspects of knowledge, information and awareness of the problems of pollution and climate change that generate their emissions. I wonder what the mobility of women will be like in my country, in its different geographic regions, climates, idiosyncrasies, and modernity. It is important to mention that in the city of Lima, approximately 70% move by public transport and only 12% by car. Although I reflect on this occasion for the Peruvian reality, I live in the Canary Islands. Here we have a great struggle to reduce the use of private vehicles, since due to the geography of the islands it is very necessary. In the city I live in, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, we work to improve mobility in general, but especially in the lower part, which has no slope, where most entities and work centers are concentrated. In this city, 50% move by car, 30 walk and 20 by public transport. (rounded numbers). But 10 years ago, that 50% was almost 70%. Many measures have been implemented and the positive results can be seen. Personally, I don’t have a car. My salary is less than my husband’s. I could try to get one but I don’t need it. I live close to my work and my son’s school, so I basically do everything on foot. I use the bicycle punctually for some destination a little further away and I take my 5-year-old son in his saddle. When we go out in the car, it’s to go out of town and I never drive. The car is like my husband’s expensive toy. We use the car very punctually to leave the city. Of the rest, we see each other on the bus frequently, especially when we all go out together.

Anna, PL

My results were also quite similar to the ones presented in the survey. The issues of safety, sustainability and trip chaining seem to be common among women across the globe.

Some countries do introduce some specific measures, eg. in Malaysia I saw female-only zones in train coaches, I recently learnt about female-only taxi drivers serving women in some African cities.

Hi everyone,

Thomas from France. The results presented in this course are quite accurate and representative of what I’ve seen until now. For instance, I mainly see women carrying groceries or bags traveling with kids while walking in the street, which is coherent with what is mentioned in the course (the unpaid care job that women assume).

According to men’s perceptions, in my case I can share that harassment walking or in public transport is not my primary concern, even though I have to admit that sometimes it is, not because of my gender but because of my sexual orientation. Thus, I will avoid some streets or neighborhood or holding hands of my partner in order not to get disturbed or harassed.

I will prefer cycling or using public transport rather than using a car, for sustainability and economical reasons.

Doménica de Cuenca Ecuador.

I would say that results in Latin America would be different. The association of walking would have been also with personal safe because cities here aren’t that friendly with pedestrians and our social situation is different.

I would think that survey results are very similar to my expectations! For Indian context also it`s very similar. Men drive, women travel as passenger in private cars, except in case of scooters/bike are become quite common for women to use for short trips. Time of the day and route are very important as safety concerns are high. Women walk more and use public transport more is also very similar. Family trips and chain trips are common. Super market shopping is also part of the trip.

Hola, soy de Lima Perú, tengo algunos datos importantes en relación al acoso sexual en el transporte público.

• Más de la mitad de las mujeres (65%) que declararon haber sufrido acoso sexual en transporte público,
  señala que fue de naturaleza física, a través de tocamientos indebidos, seguido por los piropos o frases
  insinuantes (20%).
• Los tocamientos indebidos fueron sufridos por la mayoría de mujeres de todas las edades, principalmente
  entre las mayores de 36 años (68%), mientras que las mujeres entre 15 y 17 años son las principales víctimas
  de los piropos o comentarios de connotación sexual (26%).

Por otro lado, los modos de transporte en mi país no están 100% conectados lo que dificulta el intercambio modal, si bien existen zonas de estacionamiento para bicicletas seguras, debido al robo y externalidades.

Hi, I live in Jakarta where millions of commuters move every day. Even though I work for a public transportation operator company, I have to admit that the current use of public transportation in Jakarta is not ideal – not because of the availability of the service -but because the supporting infrastructure is not fully evenly distributed throughout the city. In addition, the fact that Jakarta is a very large consumer of private vehicles coupled with the necessity to own a private vehicle to reflect a social status makes the preference for using public vehicles increasingly challenging.

In Greece the situation is pretty much the same. The only difference is that in the smaller cities and the rural area might be more common to cycle (both men and women), but in the big cities like Athens, the lack of infrastructure makes cycling extremely dangerous.

Barcelona, woman, 35 years.
My results are quite similar to the study results presented in the video. However, I think that Coronavirus, nowadays, is no longer a relevant item to consider in chosing my transport mode.

Shehasha Sulakshana

Sri Lanka

I would think that the survey results align closely with my expectations withn the Sri Lankan context, it’s very much the same. Men typically drive, while women usually travel as passengers in private cars and three-wheelers, which have become quite popular for women on short trips. Women tend to walk more and rely more on public transportation, which is also quite similar. The issues of safety, sustainability  seem to be common among women same in Sri Lanka.

Lanzarote

My results were quite similar to the women represented in the study results presented in the video.

Personally, I have to admit, although it makes me angry, that I’m considering going to work by bicycle, but the poor communication between the city where I live and the one I go to, and the concerns related to my personal safety, especially at times when there are no people on the streets and open fields, it worries me…

Gesno George, India

I am from Inida but I have been living in the Uk for the last 3 years. I would say the situation is similar to the results both in the UK and India keeping in mind that Delhi have been included in the study. I recently did a study to understand the Role of Gender and ethnicity in Active Travel based in Oxford, UK. The study also concluded that a womens travel choices are very much depended on different personal factors and its mostly linked with household works like picking the children from school, droping them off for activities and care giving. One of the barrier for women to cycle was also tied up with the culture they have been raised which even includes thier clothing or being raised in a partiarchial society where car/bike where seen as a mens travel mode. The social expectation of women to women to act in a certain way also adds when they choose thier mode of travel. Women always seems to plan thier journey ahead due to safety reasons; the probable route they might be taking, time of travel etc.

When comparing driving rate: The rate of women driving have been increasing over these years but still its low compared to men. I think the reason is that it gives them more felixibilty in managing thier work and household rather than it being a progress towards inclusive planning. As without this, women greatly have to depend more on thier family to get things done/travel to different destinations.

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HI I am Julia, originally from Vienna – now living in Copenhagen. Because of moving I see a huge difference in transportation and how I feel much more safe at night because I am biking vs walking. I also feel the sustianability and freedom of cycling a lot vs I dont find buses cheap.