A study of bicycle as a mode of transport from a gender perspective ; case of peri-urban settlements of Indore city

Abstract

Previous research has revealed that men cycle more as compared to women (Emond et al., 2009; Pucher et al., 1999; Stinson & Bhat, 2004) Literature evidences from different geographies have revealed that females are affected to a larger or lesser extent than males from some factors. Gender differences in perceptions and attitudes can reveal these odds. This study focuses on bicycle as a mode of transport which is a subset of Non-motorized transportation. When we talk about bicycle users, we generally consider them as a homogeneous group, but there is a lot of heterogeneity among them which can be seen through different lenses, gender being one of them. Due to lesser adoption of cycling, Indian women are not regarded as cyclist unlike their counter gender. Multiple studies are carried across developed nations to assess factors that affect cycling amongst women but till now no concern has shown in India to women as a separate user group. Though Sustainable mobility is fostered in Indian cities, amongst all, women who are almost half of the population still remain ignored. Increased air pollution and different cardiovascular issues can be curbed by using bicycle as a mode of transport. Bicycle has a lot of benefits for individuals as well as the society on a whole. That can be categorized as economic, health and environmental benefits.It is also a cheaper option for personal mobility for the lower income group with no environmental impact. This study follows a case study based approach for which the most populated districts of Madhya Pradesh were compared on the basis of “other workers mode of transport” data from census 2011. Indore district was selected having 19% people using bicycle for their daily commute. Further six Gram Panchayats (GP) from peri-urban area of Indore city having both urban as a well as rural character were selected by using PPS (Probability Proportionate to size) method. This study aims to survey the difference between attitudes, behaviour, social norms, and perception of each gender for cycling and to understand the barriers to cycling faced by women in different life stages in study area. First a survey to capture the perception of the people was carried out in all six GPs. Later travel diary of the people in 4 villages, two having urban character and two having rural character were recorded. A different survey on “Males perception on women’s cycling” was also conducted to understand male’s perception and an intercept survey in schools of study area was done to capture student bicycling behavior on similar lines. All genders, however, have similar physical environment and constraints, but their perception of them vary considerably. Different possible barriers identified through literature are physical, social, and psychological barriers. Physical barriers include the built and natural environment factors, such as automobile traffic, road infrastructure and topography. Psychological barriers take into account individual perceptions regarding safety and comfort. The study aims to identify these barriers more specifically for our study area using both qualitative (through interviews) and quantitative techniques (statistical difference in perceptions between males and females).