Gender and Rail Transit Use: Influence of Environmental Beliefs and Safety Concerns

Abstract

Research suggests that gender influences attitudes toward both the environment and safety. While pro-environmental attitudes might encourage transit use, safety concerns might discourage transit use if the transit environment is perceived as unsafe. To quantitatively examine how gender, environmental beliefs, and safety concerns jointly affect transit use, results are analyzed from a longitudinal quasi-experimental study which conducted pre- and post-opening travel surveys near a new light rail transit service in Los Angeles. It is found that the influence of safety concerns on transit use is more prominent than that of environmental attitudes, particularly for women. Living closer to a new light rail transit station correlates with an increase in train ridership. This effect, however, is significantly lower for women. The results suggest that to foster transit use, reducing personal safety concerns related to transit may be more effective than increasing public awareness of transportation-related environmental issues, especially for attracting female riders.