A Gender Audit for Public Transport: A New Policy Tool in the Tackling of Social Exclusion

Abstract

In line with the increasing policy recognition of the role of transport in social exclusion, Transport Studies at the University of East London was commissioned by the Mobility Unit of the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions to produce a Public Transport Gender Audit. The completed project is available on the Gender Audit website at http://www.uel.ac.uk/womenandtransport. It includes an inventory of relevant literature providing both policy-makers and the public at large with access to the existing body of evidence on the relationships between gender and transport. This paper identifies the goals and progress of the Gender Audit for Public Transport to date. It considers why we need a Public Transport Gender Audit and examines the major gender differences that have relevance for transport policy-makers, planners and providers.