News & Views

I recently attended a conference that featured a breakout session on the topic of ‘women and transport’. Out of approximately 30 attendees, around 23 were women. During the session, a particularly lively debate emerged about how cycle infrastructure often fails to meet the needs of women. Interestingly, the conversation included several male traffic engineers who looked slightly confused by some of the statements being made. In fact, two of the engineers admitted that the issue of designing for women had never really come up in their training (cue groans from a large proportion of the audience!). Encouragingly, they were keen to learn more about the group’s views and how they could improve infrastructure on the ground to meet the needs of women.

Are cycle lanes sexist?

Let's consider the definition of "sexist," which is "characterised by or showing prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women, on the basis of sex." If the current cycle infrastructure in the UK fails to meet the needs of women, it could indeed be considered sexist. So, what do women require for cycle lanes to meet their needs? Before attempting to answer this, it is of course important to note that ‘women’ are not a homogenous group. Therefore, it is impossible to speak for all women as gender intersects in a complex manner with other factors such as ethnicity, socio-economic status and disability. However, some generalised statements can be made, which are set out below.

For example, regarding the fear of injury, existing literature indicates that women prefer to ride on protected cycle infrastructure, which eliminates the need to mix with motorised traffic. While research shows that both men and women favour traffic-free routes, this preference is more pronounced among women. In countries such as the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany, cycling is popular among women, often matching or, in some cases, surpassing the rates of male cyclists. In these countries, high-quality networks of protected cycle routes are common. Additionally, women frequently use bicycles for shopping, leisure, and school runs. The presence of safe cycling infrastructure, particularly extensive networks of cycle routes, allows women, who frequently make multi-trip journeys and escort children, to cycle safely to their destinations. In contrast, the UK has a limited number of connected routes, despite the efforts of many campaigners and professionals working to improve cycling infrastructure.

Concerns about personal safety, particularly harassment in public spaces, significantly affect women's travel patterns. A recent growth of campaigns on social media calling for women to share their experiences of harassment and sexual violence in public spaces appears to indicate just how prolific and universal the issue is. According to a 2021 UN Women (UK) report, 70% of the 1,000 women surveyed said they’ve experienced sexual harassment in a public. Consequently, the impact of harassment and sexual violence on women using all forms of transport systems is thought to influence a range of behaviours and strategies by women to circumvent incidents. These strategies include avoidance, removing themselves from danger, or adopting self-protective behaviours to minimise any risks. Indeed, it is thought that women and girls often modify their behaviour and restrict their freedom of movement to ensure their safety, such as changing routes at certain times, carefully choosing seats on public transport, or using headphones and sunglasses to feel less visible.

However, the types of infrastructure women prefer to cycle on, such as protected routes and low traffic routes are often problematic for female cyclists. When planning cycle routes, traffic safety tends to be prioritised, which can unintentionally create routes that lead to personal safety concerns. For example, while priority is often given to traffic-free routes (what women want given their preference to not mix with motorised forms of traffic), these ‘traffic-free’ routes are often seen as unsafe from a social safety perspective due to being isolated or with no ‘escape routes’. The insistence on including physical guard railing on traffic free routes has also been highlighted as hindering women’s ability to make a quick escape if they were using a non-standard cycle that struggles to move with ease around such barriers. These barriers are a common source of frustration for all cyclists using non-standard cycles due to accessibility issues, impacting not just women but all cyclists.

Interestingly, during the breakout session mentioned earlier, one of the male engineers stopped to ask the group about cycle routes through parks and green spaces, as he’d thought these would be routes that women prefer over cycling on the road. Several female participants shared that while these routes are preferable during the daytime, they would not risk cycling alone on isolated, poorly lit routes with a lack of natural surveillance after dark. He admitted this was not something that had crossed his mind before and, encouragingly, we think he went away from the session with new insights.

What do women want?

Again, it is impossible to speak for all women, but previous research clearly points toward three main improvements that could be made to make cycle lanes less ‘sexist’.

Firstly, yes to more traffic free or protected cycle lanes, but they need to link to the places that women need/want to cycle to. Superhighway style infrastructure is great and has undoubtedly seen more people start using it, but national statistics continue to show female cyclists riding in much lower levels than their male counterparts. Therefore, yes to more superhighways, but also yes to more high-standard local routes too.

Secondly, shared use paths away from roads or through green spaces must feel safe for women at all times of the day. Active Travel England have a page on their website detailing how to build natural surveillance into infrastructure designs.

If you would like to find out more, or learn how ITP can support your organisation's transport projects with our expertise in inclusive design, please get in touch or contact Dawn Rahman.