Make public transport safe for women

The finance minister’s emphasis on women working across all sectors, and in night shifts with adequate protection, is positive. But for this to work, a prerequisite is ensuring their safe and sustainable mobility in cities. Urban planning should be reviewed keeping in mind the safety of women. For rural India, the challenges are different and more daunting.

Due to poor planning in many urban areas, women do not have access to safe or affordable transportation. The pandemic has further reduced financial resources available to women and this must be factored into public transport planning.

For a start, the police, transport authorities and civil society organisations have to work together to help in ensuring that women don’t face any form of sexual or other violence in public transport. This is one reason why women are reluctant to use public transport, which reduces their ability to go to and from work. There are enough CCTVs in urban areas, but that alone does not ensure safety for women.

There has to be adequate lighting in urban spaces as many women have to walk long distances from metro or bus stations to reach home. Many urban spaces are not well-lit or effectively patrolled in the evenings. Women should be involved in decision-making in urban planning so that their concerns are factored in when framing plans. There are some initiatives in other cities which are worth studying.

In London, its public transport operator uses information technology, which has led to solutions to address women’s safety and easy mobility. Among the ideas generated were fare discounts and stepfree buses as women often combine domestic chores with work and may have to carry large packages, which hinder their mobility.

In addition, there must be regular safety audits in urban spaces and public transport systems through which authorities can frame better ways to work out programmes for safety.

A social enterprise working on data collection for safer cities, Safetipin, collected data from five cities, namely Bhopal, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune, which showed that women tend not to venture out into public spaces after dark. Some of the reasons cited were poor visibility due to high boundary walls and lack of well-lit walking paths. Safetipin has also mapped safety scores for public spaces in order to identify ways in which safety for women can be improved.

There has been an earlier suggestion that cities should promote the presence of hawkers in public areas as this would ensure greater street activity and, thus, improve safety for women on their way to and from home.

In addition, there must be efforts by employers to provide safe transportation wherever possible for women at affordable rates. If local government bodies work with the police, areas which are unsafe for women can be identified and patrolling improved.

Public spaces and transport should be a major focus so that women are able to fully participate in the workforce without any fear of violence. With economic distress due to the pandemic, there is going to be more pressure than ever on women to contribute to the household income. And this must be enabled in every possible way, starting with upgrading public infrastructure.