MEN, WOMEN, AND WHEELS: THE HISTORICAL BASIS OF SEX DIFFERENCES IN TRAVEL PATTERNS

Abstract

There are substantial differences between the travel patterns of men and women, despite the fact that a majority of women are now in the paid labor force. Women make shorter work trips, make greater use of public transit, make more trips for the purpose of serving another person's travel needs, and drive far fewer miles per year than men. The historical basis for these differences in travel are examined and they are attributed ultimately to the evolution of separate spheres that delineate the social responsibilities of men and women. Man's sphere has traditionally been the workplace and woman's, the home, and transportation systems were built with the conscious purpose of separating those functional spheres in geographic space. This was the case when new transit systems were built at the end of the last century and the suburbanization of middle- and upper-class residences ensued. As the automobile became the dominant mode of transportation in the 1920s, the idea of separate spheres was extended to that vehicle, and social conventions developed regarding appropriate uses of the automobile by men and women. These uses differed for the two sexes, and sex-based stereotypes were used to reinforce the division between man's and woman's worlds. Many of the sex-role definitions that were established decades ago have remained, and women's work is still defined within limits associated with their special domain. It is important that transportation planners consider the special travel needs of women because they are indeed the product of conscious policies that have been pursued in the past.

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