Women prefer personal transport for safety: CMP survey

CHENNAI: The Comprehensive Mobility Plan for the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA) shows that women are increasingly choosing personal modes of travel, particularly two-wheelers, because they feel safer and find public transport unreliable.

A gender-specific mobility survey covering 14,474 women across the Greater Chennai Corporation limits, the old CMA and the expanded CMA indicates that two-wheelers form the largest share of women’s trips, followed by walking and buses.

This preference is strongest in the expanded CMA, where 52% of women depend on two-wheelers for comfort, time savings and predictable travel. Findings from the user perception survey show that 62% of women in the old CMA prefer to walk or cycle for short trips of up to 1 km due to the comfort these modes offer. Only 4% cited safety as a concern while choosing non-motorised transport.

In contrast, 37% in the expanded CMA said they would rather walk or cycle due to safety risks in public transport. Many women prefer this out of necessity as public transport options are limited and last-mile connectivity remains weak. Those who cannot access or operate two-wheelers often walk along carriageways due to the lack of safe footpaths.

Also, women in these areas reported, at much higher levels than those in the old CMA, that non-motorised transport feels safer and that they have no viable alternative. However, the expanded CMA continues to face a significant shortage of dedicated pedestrian infrastructure.

As a result, women without personal vehicles are frequently forced to walk along busy roads or rely occasionally on intermediate public transport. Women who own two-wheelers overwhelmingly prefer them for their daily commutes.

Average trip length data further highlights the regional variations. In the GCC area, women typically walk 1.1 km and travel 8 km by two-wheeler, 13.6 km by bus, 13.7 km by train, 5.5 km by metro and 5.9 km by intermediate public transport. Patterns in the old CMA are similar.

In the expanded CMA, trip distances increase sharply. Women walk an average of 1.5 km and travel 24.8 km by two-wheeler, 38.2 km by bus, 42.8 km by train and 20.5 km by intermediate public transport. These figures reflect the dispersed nature of development and the longer distances between homes, workplaces and essential services.

Safety remains a major factor shaping women’s mobility choices. The survey found that 22% had experienced harassment in public spaces, including on buses, trains and at waiting areas. Although many women said public transport staff were helpful, overall perceptions of safety remain low, particularly in the expanded CMA.

Women also feel more vulnerable at suburban railway stations, isolated bus stops and poorly lit stretches of road. Only 24% in the expanded CMA rated pedestrian facilities as adequate, compared with 68% in the old CMA.

Chennai’s transport system spans Metro Rail, suburban rail, MRTS, MTC city buses, mofussil services and a wide intermediate public transport network. Despite this range, gaps in frequency, connectivity and infrastructure continue to push many women towards personal vehicles.

Urban mobility experts argued that unless safety, reliability and last-mile connectivity were improved, women would continue to depend heavily on private modes for their everyday travel.