Women's Safety in Public Transportation: A Catalyst for Women Empowerment

Citizens make a country, and for the nation to develop in every sense, it is important that it caters to the needs of every citizen. It is essential for the growth of a country that it can provide for the masses; for the general public. Infrastructure development and its accessibility to every citizen is a must have for any developed country. But is that all? Definitely not. 

Illustration by The Geostrata

Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, had said and I quote, “You can tell the condition of a nation by looking at the status of its women.” Rightly enough, when public transportation is discussed as a benchmark for a country’s development, women’s safety surely needs to be taken care of.

Especially for India, where sadly almost every woman has faced harassment while traveling. Ensuring accessible and safe public transport for women should be among the top priorities for governments. 

A catalyst for women empowerment, safety in public transport opens doors to education and employment opportunities for women. When basic access to a safe and reliable public transport is not provided, it significantly hinders a woman's ‘right to the  city’, which is precisely the right to use and create urban space and also participate in city’s planning and decision making processes.

A 2021 survey across 140 Indian cities revealed that 52% of women turned down opportunities for education and jobs due to safety concerns. This showcases a concerning reality for most of the women in this country. 

FACTORS AFFECTING WOMEN'S MOBILITY

Women’s mobility is also affected by many factors. For instance, poorly lit roads or bus stops become a hindrance for women while accessing public transportation. Women have reported to prefer avoiding night time for commuting, often paying more to ensure a better and safe journey.

An MMRDA study in Mumbai revealed that women commuters spend 21% more on transport than men, primarily due to the juggling of multiple activities and heightened concerns for personal safety.

Unfortunately, policy makers, transport planners and service providers often turn a blind eye to such disparities. A World Bank study confirmed that women in Delhi were willing to invest an extra 27 minutes daily to choose a perceived safer route. It is, therefore, not very difficult to imagine why women wait for long hours for less crowded vehicles, choosing more expensive modes of transportation, or resorting to taking alternative routes to reach their destination, in return for safety. 

INITIATIVES TAKEN BY THE GOVERNMENT  

A few Indian cities and their governments have made some effort that impacted on making travel easy for women. For instance, in Kolkata, a special women-only bus service operates from morning to night. This initiative was undertaken to provide relief during office rush hours and crowded buses. 

In Delhi, DTC buses were made free for women in 2016, to encourage more women using public transport.

In Bhubaneswar, the Capital Region Urban Transport has increased women’s representation in the workforce by 40% by recruiting women bus conductors and encouraging training for women and transgender individuals as bus and e-rickshaw operators. 

Chennai Metro Rail also launched a unique initiative called Pink Squad, consisting of a group of  25-30 martial arts trained women. They are deployed at busy stations to ensure safety for women passengers. Initiatives like Pink autos and She Cabs taxi services, driven by and for women, have also severely impacted the number of women using public transport. 

WHAT DO THE INITIATIVES LACK?

While the governments are taking steps at various levels to create gender-responsive mobility systems and ensure safety for women, it often misses their true objective. For instance, many of the initiatives often just limit themselves to installing CCTV cameras, panic buttons in vehicles, or location tracking.

Now, these technologies do have their merits, but they do not directly acknowledge the core problem. They are limited in their scope and lack a bigger vision. 

For instance, a lot of women still do not prefer using the DTC buses, despite the fact of it being free, because of fear of getting harassed during the trip. For the women that do use the bus, 80.2% of them have reported instances of the drivers not halting for them at designated stops, a report by Greenpeace India reveals. Besides, 54.2% respondents disclosed that they faced discrimination from drivers, conductors and male passengers.

Image Credits: Rightful Owner

The only initiatives that have resulted to have more impact are the ones that actually involve more women into the space. This only brings us back to one conclusion, that if the nation has to prosper, it has to create accessible urban infrastructure and public transport, in complete awareness and attention to ensuring women’s safety.

The system has to have more women in policy making and action plans that are designed for women. 

Among all the factors that hinder a woman's right to education and employment, unsafe and unreliable public transport is one that is most prominent and overlooked. For a holistic development of the nation, the entirety of the issue needs to be solved and taken care of.

For India’s quest to become a developed nation, women empowerment and safety in the nation is a must. As Mahatma Gandhi puts it, “the day a woman can walk freely on the road at night, that day we can say that India has achieved independence”. 

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BY PREETU MAHARSHI

TEAM GEOSTRATA

info@geostrata.com