Women in South and Southeast Asia encounter unique mobility barriers which are a combination of poor services by public transport modes and underlying patriarchal societal norms. Although international organisations provide guidelines for national policy makers to develop inclusive public transport systems, women’s mobility remains restricted and unsafe. This paper provides a critical review on women’s mobility barriers from built-environment to policy for public transport ridership. It includes three main aspects. Firstly, the key barriers encountered by women from poor service quality, sexual harassment and patriarchal societal norms. Secondly, the limitations in common methods adopted to measure these barriers. Finally, the effectiveness of international guidelines and national policies on women’s travel needs for public transport ridership. Findings revealed that women’s mobility barriers in South and Southeast Asian countries originate from the lack of adequate inclusive policies and protection laws from authorities. The underlying patriarchal societal norms form a toxic base, which allow for severe forms of sexual harassment to take place when riding public transport and for women to experience victim-blaming, if the incidents are reported. The paper concludes with knowledge gaps to assist practitioners and researchers to move toward safer journeys and development of inclusive public transport systems for women in developing countries.


    Access

    Download


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Moving towards an inclusive public transport system for women in the South and Southeast Asian region


    Contributors:

    Published in:

    Transport Reviews ; 43 , 6 ; 1144-1164


    Publication date :

    2023-11-02


    Size :

    21 pages




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    Unknown




    Towards an integrated public transport system in Sebokeng-Evaton, Lekoa-Vaal region, South Africa

    van der Merwe, E. / Miller, P. K. / Valranges, A. | British Library Conference Proceedings | 1998



    Co-designing urban transport solutions with Southeast Asian young adults

    Homer, Stephen Thomas / Berezina, Elizaveta / Chaouche, Sabine-Salima et al. | Taylor & Francis Verlag | 2024



    Freight Transport Challenges in Vietnam’s Southeast Region

    Huyen, Le Thi Minh / Linh, Nguyen Thuy / Len, Nguyen Thanh et al. | Springer Verlag | 2024