77% of women feel last mile connectivity needs improvement: Report by Ola Mobility Institute
- Titled ‘What Do Women and Girls Want from Urban Mobility Systems?,’ the report offers a unique gender disaggregated analysis of the Ease of Moving Index 2018, launched last year
Bengaluru, 7th March 2019: Ola Mobility Institute (OMI), the policy and social innovation think-tank of Ola, one of the world’s largest ride-hailing platforms, today released a report titled ‘What Do Women and Girls Want from Urban Mobility Systems?’. The report provides an in-depth analysis and puts forth women and girls’ perspectives of urban mobility in India.
In line with its ambition to making mobility accessible to all, the OMI surveyed 9,935 women across 11 Indian cities to assess the current state of mobility ecosystem in the country. The parameters that these respondents were evaluated upon included demography, non-motorized transport, public transport as well as private motor vehicles. The findings provide regulators with an opportunity to mainstream gender perspectives to enhance the robustness of India’s mobility ecosystem.
Key findings from ‘What Do Women and Girls Want from Urban Mobility Systems?’
Usage patterns for public transport
- 59% of the surveyed women used public transport – Women constituted 38% of bus users, 35% of metro/ train users and 40-45% of rickshaw, on-demand taxi and other shared mode users
- Women are willing to use public transport with 96% prioritizing affordability, coverage, frequency, safety and comfort – Women’s reasons for using public transport were affordability (40%), convenience (26%), time saved (18%) with 15% stating that they had no other option
- 89% of women felt that the public transport information system could be better designed such that information is easily available and accessible
Insights on first and last mile connectivity to public transport
- 77% of women felt that last mile connectivity needed to be improved
Usage patterns for non-motorized transport
- 95% of the female respondents consider it important to use environmentally sustainable modes of transport but only 4% of women have a stated preference for using non-motorized transport
- Bicycles were owned by 30% of women as compared to 40% of men; however, amongst women, 46% of students and 48% of unemployed women-owned bicycles indicating the importance of a low or no cost mode of transport for these groups
- Only 7% of women felt that seamless footpaths were available throughout their city. 74% of women and 78% of men wanted dedicated footpaths in their city
Women want streets to be improved
- 74% of women stated that footpaths and 68% stated that cycle tracks are required in cities
- Other elements – Improved street lighting and patrolling in secluded areas in the night, wide, shaded, universally accessible footpaths and safer road crossings along with supporting amenities such as public toilets, seating and spaces for street vendors
Anand Shah, Senior Vice President and Head of Ola Mobility Institute (OMI), said, “Mobility, and the experience of getting around, are critical to the daily life of women across India. We look forward to continuing to share our aggregate and local insights to make public transport systems proactively inclusive.”
The complete study can be downloaded here: https://tinyurl.com/y27ko88c
About Ola Mobility Institute:
Ola Mobility Institute (OMI) is a policy and social innovation think-tank of Ola that is focussed on developing knowledge frameworks at the intersection of mobility and the public good. The Institute concerns itself with public research on the social and economic impact of mobility as a service, the climate footprint of mobility innovations, skill development and job creation, transportation-oriented urban planning and the digitization of mobility.
About Ola:
Founded in 2011 by Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, Ola is one of the world’s largest ride-hailing companies. Ola integrates city transportation for customers and drivers onto a mobile technology platform ensuring convenient, transparent, safe and quick service fulfilment. Ola is focused on leveraging the best of technology and building innovative solutions ground-up that are relevant on a global scale. Notably, in 2016, Ola Play the world’s first connected car platform for ride-sharing was launched, transforming commuting experiences and setting the tone for global innovation in this space. Using the Ola mobile app, users across 125+ cities can connect with over a million drivers across a diverse range of vehicles. Driven by a hyperlocal approach, Ola is committed to its mission of building mobility for a billion people.
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