Men more assured in urban transport settings

TUESDAY 17 JUNE 2008

Australian men are much more confident and relaxed than women when it comes to using the range of transport options in urban settings, new research from The Australian National University suggests.

Researcher Sarah Hinde from the ANU College of Medicine and Health Sciences has been looking at attitudes towards major urban transport options – cars, buses, trains, trams, bicycles and walking – as part of her doctoral studies.

“Urban transport routes in Australia can be like a battleground – especially around peak hour,” Ms Hinde said. “Decades of policy and planning decisions mean that we’ve come to favour the private car as our way of getting from A to B in our cities, and as a flow-on effect our attitude to transport has become much more atomised, and individual citizens have to jostle for space on our roads.”

In 2005 the social researcher conducted a series of interviews in two inner-Melbourne suburbs, one of which could be classified as more car reliant than the other due to high rates of car ownership and use. In the less car-reliant suburb, up to two-thirds of people used active transport to get to work. In the more car-reliant suburb, which was more typical of urban Australia, four in every five commuters used a car to get to work.

But surprisingly, anxiety about all forms of transport in both suburbs was clearly divided along gender lines. “My research suggests that men are much more comfortable and confident in urban transport settings, regardless of whether they’re driving a car, riding a bike or walking. In their interviews, they tended not to report feeling anxiety about having an accident or the safety of others, and were undeterred even if they had been involved in a crash or injured on the road before,” Ms Hinde said.

“But the women I interviewed reported feeling anxious about their own and other people’s safety using all forms of transport, and many experience travel as a source of conflict, stress or danger. Although these women travel every day, many felt quite intimidated.”

Ms Hinde said that our current urban transport options are creating clear gender inequalities, especially as policy makers tend to focus on the journey to work when planning urban transport. She said women still perform the bulk of family duties, which means they travel between many destinations throughout the day. Ms Hinde argues that they are being overlooked when it comes to transport planning.

“Policy makers need to be thinking about creating transport options that make all people in society feel safe and confident. Being able to get around is a crucial part of the lives of all Australians and as refuelling our cars becomes more expensive, giving priority to active modes of travel – especially public transport – is the most sustainable and equitable option available.”

The research findings were presented in a seminar at ANU in Canberra today.

Simon Couper, ANU Media Office, 02 6125 4171, 0416 249 241