How well does public transport meet women’s needs: a scoping review

Public transport (PT) and land-use planning have historically serviced specific travel patterns – commuters, travelling downtown for white collar occupations. Consequently, PT networks have been less responsive to women’s transport needs. The aim of this scoping review was to investigate the extent to which PT systems in the Global North align with women’s PT needs. A systematic search strategy focused on gender and PT was conducted using Web of Science and TRID. A thematic analysis of the selected papers (n = 89) revealed 11 gender-related sub-themes groups into three predominant themes: mobility of care (MoC) (including for example pregnancy and household management), safety (including experiences, perceptions and planning behaviours) and resources (including for example spatial freedom and division of labour). Following the thematic analysis, a conceptual framework centred around the whole journey approach was developed, detailing how MoC, safety and resources shape women’s interactions within the PT environment. The implications for PT systems are then discussed, highlighting the strengths and limitations of PT systems in meeting women’s transport needs. Additionally, recommendations are provided for policymakers and practitioners to enhance PT systems to support women’s transport needs. Future research needs are also identified, namely, to expand the conceptualisation and quantification of the variables presented in the conceptual framework, and to further understand the impacts of different interventions on meeting women’s transport needs.