The Transportation Needs of American Women in a Cross-Cultural Context

Abstract

Transportation needs of American Women must be perceived in terms of a number of factors; age, stage in life cycle, location, trip needs, mode choice, and life styles based on previous experiences and cultural background. The existing literature has helped to establish critical factors. While numerous studies have already isolated the significance of stages in the life cycle, age and location of origins and destinations of trips, conventional studies of mode have dealt with preferred modes without the inclusion of life styles/cultural factors. Yet this is critical when we consider that many women especially in urban areas are first-generation immigrants whose experience and life styles do not fit the majority. Thus a number of questions have been raised for further research and also to influence data collection efforts at all levels. They are summarized as follows: Do women from different cultural backgrounds bundle their trips in a different manner and in different amounts? Do they also choose to substitute time for money or travel time for some other activities? How do women with prior living experience outside the U.S. choose transport modes or conduct their lives? What are the average household size, and the number of non-driving adults and children in the household? What are the influence of country of birth / culture on preferred mode, or use of existing mode(s)? What are the influence of prior transportation experience on their travel behavior and patterns in the United States? What are the influence of their length of residence in the United States and their age at immigration? For those women who have acquired their licenses at some later stage in their lives, how do they use the car and how often and where and when do they travel? If cultural minority women's groups born in the United States are added to those foreign-born or foreign raised, there is a wide variety of transport experience which may influence their mode choices and travel behavior and patterns.

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