Gender gap in travel behaviour and public opinion on proposed policy measures: Evidence from India

Abstract

Employing primary survey data collected from Jaipur city in India, this work attempts to evaluate inconsistencies in travel behaviour based on gender. It also intends to discuss the public opinion on a few proposed policy changes which can aid in bridging the established gender gap. Stratified random sampling approach is used to gather data on travel pattern measures and socioeconomic attributes. Descriptive statistics complemented with bivariate probit model and seemingly unrelated bivariate probit model is applied on the data acquired. The obtained results confirm the existence of a gender gap in all observed measures of travel behaviour. Compared to men, women travel shorter distances, use more of non‐motorised modes of transport, have lower frequency of travelling, and travel majorly for purposes other than work. Results of the study also highlight how a majority of the respondents are in favour of policy changes aimed at narrowing the observed gender disparities. The analysis demands infrastructural development of non‐motorised transportation and public transportation in the city in such a way which is both efficient and secured, so as to neither obstruct the objective of empowerment nor of sustainability.