Public Transportation and Gender: Bridging the Mobility Gap for Women in India
Swati Verma
Senior Research Associate
In a nation of 1.4 billion people, public transportation forms the backbone of mobility and economic development. It connects millions to jobs, education, and healthcare, driving social inclusion and productivity. Yet for nearly half of India’s population (women and girls), this essential system often acts as a barrier rather than a bridge.
The experience of navigating India’s vast network of buses, trains, and metros is deeply gendered. While public transport is intended to be a lifeline, its accessibility, affordability, and, most critically, its safety are not experienced equally. Addressing this gap is essential to building a more inclusive and equitable mobility ecosystem.
The High Cost of Constrained Mobility
The mobility gap begins with a fundamental divergence in travel patterns. Women’s journeys are rarely linear. According to the World Bank, they are more likely to travel during off-peak hours, make multiple, shorter trips for domestic and caregiving purposes, and be accompanied by children. Compounding this, women have lower rates of private vehicle ownership, making them overwhelmingly reliant on public transport.
This reliance comes at a steep price. A 2017 International Labour Organization (ILO) study identified inadequate access to safe transportation as the single largest factor limiting women’s economic participation in developing countries, reducing it by 15.5 percentage points.
India illustrates this vividly. While female labour force participation has risen modestly, it remains far below men’s. A striking example comes from Delhi, where the resettlement of 700,000 squatters to the city’s periphery led to a 5% increase in male employment, but a staggering 27% drop for women, whose travel time increased threefold. This is not a mere inconvenience; it is a structural constraint.
The mechanism of this limitation is clear. Barriers to transport narrow a woman’s potential “job radius”, restricting her opportunities to locations within walking distance or requiring slower, less efficient modes of travel. The same World Bank report notes that 45 percent of women walk to work in India, compared to 27 percent of men, largely because they cannot afford faster transport options. The result is a crippling “time poverty,” where long, arduous commutes and the burden of unpaid care work leave little time for rest, skill development, or formal employment.
These mobility-linked constraints reinforce occupational clustering. According to the Periodic Labour Force Survey 2023–24, over 75 percent of rural women remain concentrated in agriculture, while urban women are clustered in a narrow range of sectors; about 25 percent in manufacturing, 15 percent in trade, hotels, and restaurants, and nearly 40 percent in service-sector roles such as finance, administration, health, and social work. While these patterns stem from multiple structural issues, evidence increasingly shows that transport affordability, reliability, and safety deepen these divides and limit women’s upward mobility.
Compounding this is the lack of women within the public transport workforce itself. In FY 2021–22, women made up less than 2 percent of commercial drivers authorized to operate public transport vehicles, and female conductors accounted for under 10 percent. This underrepresentation amplifies feelings of isolation and reduces perceived safety, further discouraging women from using public transport.
An Anatomy of Anxiety: The Female Commute, Stage by Stage
For many women in India, the journey to work or school is a daily exercise in risk management. In Delhi, over 90% of women reported experiencing sexual harassment in public transport settings (UN Women, 2013). A 2021 Observer Research Foundation (ORF) study revealed that 56% of women faced sexual harassment while commuting, and nearly half avoided professional or educational opportunities due to safety concerns.
To understand why this fear is so pervasive, we can map the female commuter’s journey. A recent study by the Bureau of Research on Industry and Economic Fundamentals (BRIEF), titled, Empowering Women: Unveiling the Importance of Public Transport, breaks it into multiple stages, and at every point, her freedom is chipped away:
- It begins at home, with pre-planning routes to avoid “unsafe” areas, often with limited information.
- It continues at the stop, with waiting in poorly lit or isolated areas.
- It peaks in-transit, with overcrowded buses and trains where groping and harassment are often hidden in plain sight.
- It culminates at the destination, with the insecurity of finding safe “last-mile” options to her final doorstep.
These are not isolated inconveniences but interconnected links in a chain of constraints. Critically, over 70% of respondents in the ORF study said they would use public transport more if it were safer, cleaner, and better connected. This daily anxiety is not merely a transport issue, it is a barrier to equality, limiting access to education, employment, and public life.
Charting a Path Forward: A Blueprint for Gender-Inclusive Transport
As India urbanizes rapidly, with its urban population projected to reach 820 million by 2051, the demand for safe mobility will only intensify. Dismantling this architecture of anxiety requires a systemic response that addresses each point of failure. This demands a comprehensive, gender-responsive strategy integrating policy, infrastructure, and community engagement.
- Institutionalize Gender Inclusion: Transport governance must mainstream gender equality. This requires establishing dedicated R&D divisions within transport ministries and creating gender teams at state and city levels to collect disaggregated data and monitor compliance.
- Enforce a Zero-Tolerance Policy: Stronger, more visible enforcement against harassment is non-negotiable. This must be coupled with public awareness campaigns and seamless coordination between transport authorities and police.
- Design for Safety and Accessibility: Infrastructure must be reimagined from a woman’s perspective. This means installing CCTV cameras, improving lighting at stops and stations, providing gender-sensitive amenities like clean restrooms, and ensuring universal accessibility.
- Empower a Representative Workforce: Actively recruiting and training women as drivers, conductors, planners, and administrators is crucial. This builds trust, fosters accountability, and makes the system more responsive to its users.
- Foster a Culture of Collective Responsibility: Awareness campaigns in schools and communities can promote bystander intervention and challenge patriarchal norms, making public safety a shared civic duty.
Conclusion: Mobility as a Catalyst for Equality
If public transportation is to be a true catalyst for equality, then the system itself must be rebuilt with gender equity at its core. It is more than a mode of travel. It is a social equalizer and an economic enabler. For millions of women across India, it represents the tangible bridge between a life of constraint and a world of opportunity.
A transport system that prioritizes women’s safety, comfort, and accessibility will ultimately benefit everyone. It supports inclusive urbanization, increases workforce participation, and advances sustainable development. Empowering women through mobility is not only about safer travel. It is about unlocking the full potential of a nation.