Only 9% women feel safe in Urban Public Transport - Report

New Delhi (Urban Transport News): Recently Ola Mobility Institute has conducted a survey on over 9,000 women from across 11 different cities to know the safety and security of Indian women in Urban Public Transport. They were asked about the current state of mobility in their cities. Based on the response received from the participants, it  has been revealed that only 9% of women in Indian cities feel public transport is completely safe, while 3% claim it is completely unsafe. Ola Mobility Institute has prepared a report titled ‘What Do Women and Girls Want from Urban Mobility’. Most of the participants said that public transport is somewhat safe and found it unsafe only at nights and report says that about 35% of women felt most city roads are dark, and only 7% felt that their cities had seamless footpaths. The findings further revealed that 59% of women used public transport like buses, metro/trains, and on-demand taxis, despite over 80% claiming that they felt somewhat safe using it during the day, but not at night. The key factor driving urban public transport use among women was affordability, with around 40% claiming this to be the main reason. Other reasons were coverage, frequency, safety, and comfort. One of the key issues raised by women was that the Government failed to provide last mile connectivity with over 77% of respondents stating that it needed to be improved. According to the report, the majority of the respondents lived within a 15-minute walk to the nearest public transport, but only 35% chose to walk, while others used shared transport or personal vehicles to cover the distance. The report also revealed that women had to wait at least 15 minutes on an average for buses, trains, and metros, which could be effectively reduced by providing real-time information of the time of arrival/departure. Nearly 33% of participants highlighted the need for dedicated footpaths, while 57% pointed out existing footpaths that were not usable as they were either discontinuous or encroached. They said that lack of road lighting was a key factor behind feeling safe, with 40% women stating only major roads were well lit.