JOURNEY AFTER DARK : STUDY OF WOMEN'S EXPERIENCES OF NIGHT TRAVEL

Abstract

This thesis focuses on women engaged in formal employment outside the home and their travel patterns and experiences after dark. It is an attempt to determine whether certain research findings on women and transp01t in the western developed countries are relevant to the local context. Singapore women are claiming their share of the public life in society. This greater involvement in the public arena requires them to move between the private sphere of the home and the public sphere of work. Urban transport has an indispensable role in providing that vital link to bridge the divided spaces, particularly because it determines women's access to resources. Despite the fact that women's travel needs are different from men's, this is usually not acknowledged by transport planners. A two-pronged approach was adopted in the methodology. The first was the use of a questionnaire survey of 104 men and 131 women respondents to obtain gender segregated data followed by in-depth interviews with a sample of women to probe deeper to understand women's travel experiences. The second involved the collation and analysis of official documents, newspaper reports and other transport related reports to further understand transport planning policies in Singapore. Men and women do indeed have differences in their travel patterns and needs. Such differences are the result of power relationships and the gender roles prescribed for men and women. Women's greater reliance on public transport implies that a gender insensitive system will be a hindrance to their being in and moving through the public space. Although public transport is accessible to women, women face the problems of unreliability and unpredictability of the services. Some design features of the public transport are insensitive to the travel needs of women. Consequently, they encounter difficulties when using public transport, particularly during travel with children, toddlers and strollers, the elderly, and groceries. Women are concerned about their safety, particularly travel after dark, because they consider themselves vulnerable. Different kinds and degrees of fear are experienced by women depending on which part of the travel component they are in and the mode of public transport. Environmental cues are also vital to women's sense of security. The variations in the degree of fear are the consequence of the perceived extent of risks involved and the assistance available in the event of an attack. In the light of the development of a world class land transport system, transport planning has to shift away from the lack of consideration for women's travel needs to one that adopts gender sensitive planning. Transport planning and policies should be a two-way relationship in which women themselves are actively involved and planners are sensitive to gender planning.