Gender auditing is a means by which public transport operators and other providers can assess whether the services within their responsibility take account of the specific needs of all their passengers:men, women and children. Men and women make different use of public transport. They have different access to private transport,different patterns of commuting and employment, and different child-care and other family responsibilities. Passenger surveys reveal differences in mens and womens attitude to and experience of public transport travel. They have different concerns, different preferences, different priorities. The process of gender auditing offers transport operators and other providers a framework for checking that services within their responsibility take adequate account of these differences. Its aim is to improve the quality of transport service, which, in turn, will assist operators by increasing patronage. While gender auditing seeks to benefit both men and women passengers, the emphasis is on women.Women are the prime users of public transport, especially buses, but their patronage cannot be taken for granted. Most of the recent increase in car use is attributable to women. Public transport planners and operators have tended to be men, and womens specific transport needs and aspirations have often not been sought or addressed. While some operators have, in recent years, taken steps to employ women in key positions and consult women as users, there is scope for more to be done to redress the balance. Providing quality and accessible services for women will ultimately benefit all passengers. (Author/publisher)
Abstract