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Home » Blog » Safety and accessibility: what solutions for female mobility in cities?

In the act of using urban space, each citizen has different needs and possibilities, especially if these citizens are divided into men and women. An egalitarian urban design must take into consideration gender differences, understood more as differences in socio-cultural conditions and daily routines rather than biological ones.

We start from the assumption that women, compared to men, are more often employed in part-time jobs and generally earn less; Furthermore, in most families, women invest a large amount of time in carrying out family care and management tasks.

These differences at an economic level and in daily habits generate a long series of effects that influence their relationship with the city: women have less access to a house close to the workplace or central areas of the city, which is why they use more public transport, and also generally make more daily trips due to management and care commitments, the so-called "Trip Chain". These considerations seem obvious, but in reality they give rise to a series of reflections that emphasize the differences between the daily urban routes of each citizen and the related behavioral consequences in terms of accessibility, safety and well-being.

Current mobility in the city: what effects on women?

Consequently, what women generally look for in the means of transport, which they are forced to use in their multiple daily journeys, are safety and affordability. Obviously these two parameters are subject to an extremely personal perception: however, women who do not feel the advantages of public transport place a strong limit on their mobility, which often results in absenteeism, illness or the inability to accept jobs far from home.
This is reflected in a physical exclusion from urban enjoyment, a limit to social interactions, a difficulty in accessing spaces and services and, consequently, represents a generic limit to the quality of life.
Added to all this are the themes of insecurity, fear of crime and violence, especially against women.

Female mobility: what are the possible solutions?

Let's start with the primary needs of women from a mobility perspective. Safety and protection are two very important aspects; in fact, many women have had bad experiences or are afraid of physical and verbal violence in public transport and during travel. In recent years, cities have realized this and are trying to address it through special awareness campaigns. This includes, for example, better lighting at bus stops or the use of technologies such as video surveillance or apps to report problems.

But that's not all: the issue of accessibility is also very important for women: they often travel with strollers or lots of luggage that they need to be able to use during transport without too many complications.

Another important point is tariff integration. In developing countries, women usually have lower incomes than men. Because they use different means of transport and have to pay for each trip individually, they often spend more money on mobility than men. It is therefore very useful to be able to use multiple buses or different means of transport with one ticket.

Car Sharing: a useful tool for female inclusion in city transport

Can car sharing be an opportunity to use a service that not only ensures movement, but also guarantees sufficient hourly coverage, an affordable price and safety of the vehicle?

If we try to think about it, car sharing can respond positively to all the problems just mentioned. In fact, it allows any user to use a vehicle shared with other motorists, booking the vehicle in the preferred time slot at very advantageous costs. Not only that: the use of a car makes it easier for women to travel by guaranteeing adequate and protected spaces for the transport of family members, strollers and other objects useful for women's daily life.

E-VAI promotes female inclusiveness together with sustainable mobility

The E-VAI car sharing has the theme of social and gender inclusiveness at heart, and in this month of March, dedicated to women, it has decided to activate a promotion that allows all female motorists to register for free on the platform and take advantage of 25% discount on night rentals, from 20.00 pm to 08.00 am.

Sustainable mobility, given by the recovery of urban land use and electric cars E-VAI, together with female inclusiveness in transport: this is the winning recipe conceived by E-VAI for an eco-sustainable future within everyone's reach, men and women.

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