Fairness and Inclusion for Users of Surface Transport: Comparison
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When looking into the concept of fairness in transport, inclusivity relating to users plays an important role. For a system to be both fair and inclusive, there is a need for valuable practices, implementation, and outcomes within the system that provide equitable access to transport resources for all abilities/disabilities. For public transport (PT), these resources are not limited to, but include the capability of the system to be accessible, safe, and meet the needs of its users without exclusions. To understand the perspectives of the factors affecting women’s use of public transport, it is important to acknowledge the existence of mobility disparities between men and women. Likewise, it is paramount to understand that genders vary in accordance to strata in society. With PT usage, there are more female than male users. Caring responsibilities, family duties, motherhood, lower income, age, and abilities/disabilities are more prevalent societal factors for women. For public transport to be inclusive and fair for all, there is need for it to embrace the needs of women and comprehend the factors that affect or discriminate against use.

  • fairness
  • justice
  • gender
  • public transport (PT)

       

1. Introduction

There has been a significant increase in research on the issues relating to fairness and inclusion in the transport sector. While past decades looked to economic development and environmentalism for successful implementation of public transport (PT) projects, research shows [1] equitable user engagement as a prominent issue. There is an ever present need to understand the consistently created patterns of social inequality [2]. User acceptance and engagement with the service conforms to integrated network attributes [3][4][5][6], which are mostly experienced inequitably [4][5][6]. A PT geared towards equitable access encompasses safe mobility and access to equal opportunity. The measure of such sustainable and effective transport systems and policies lies in their suitability for improving quality of life and standards of living that are equitable for all [1].

       In acquiring fairness, the users acceptance of the provided service is essential. While transit opportunity may not be experienced equally, focus avoids favouring one group over the other, which in turn limits social and economic opportunities  [7][8]. Fairness plausibility is credited to its tenacity for justice [9] and its probity in implementation [1][8]. A lack of understanding of disparity in gendered mobility practices are detrimental to sustaining PT user engagement [10][11]. Comprehending women’s mobility needs are focal to addressing such matters of fairness and inclusion [12][13]. While disparities do exist in the distribution of fairness, its conception leans towards impartiality [8]. A fair and just PT allows societal interactions [14], promoting the user ability to thrive in society in the presence of inclusive user-centric policies [10][8].

      The prevailing barriers to equitable opportunities in PT are viewed as being influenced by safety and security, accessibility and infrastructural integration. Women’s daily interactions with PT are majorly affected by safety  [15], with imbalances of gender needs linked to homogeneous approaches [16] in transport policies. Investigations highlight disparities in the challenges faced by women, especially their personal safety while accessing the service, particularly at dark hours [17][18][19][20]. Women’s apprehension to use PT and transit space, stem from physical, phycological and conditional limitations [15][21] [22] [23].

     To encourage women’s access and engagement with PT, gender equity should be the focal point. An understanding of gendered roles is key to improving users accessibility. Women’s travel patterns and behaviours are influenced by their household duties and care-giving responsibilities, often necessitating multi-modal travel use  [24] [25]. Nevertheless, planning and design focused primarily on radial, single-mode, one-directional, commuter-centred working trips neglect the shorter multi-destination journeys, which may include trips to locations such as schools, grocery stores, or (health) care facilities [26]. When gendered disparities and the complex nature of women’s transit patterns are not considered in PT planning, it leads to limitations in safe and reliable modes.

     In catering to a gender-inclusive PT system, the provided infrastructural element of the service must be considered [27]. Safe access to PT incorporates every journey and aspect of travel, from first mile to last mile. In addressing fair and equitable mobility for women, transit spaces are required to be safe and welcoming. Infrastructures and active travel provisions need to be universally integrated to allow for the complexity of women’s travel need, social activities and other modal choice [28][29], plus that of their dependants [26]. Women’s mobility needs are often not accounted for in the onset of transport planning and design [30]. Yet, paramount to a sustained PT system is the inclusion of women’s mobility needs. The failure to observe these needs at the planning and decision-making stage deters multimodal, sustainable transit decisions while simultaneously adding risk to those with already limited mobility choices [29].

There are no one-size fits all approach to equitable access, rather sustaining user engagement could be derived from understanding gaps in the PT system from the users perspective.

 

 

 

 

References

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