INTERSECTION OF GENDER WITH AREA AND OCCUPATION IN ANALYSING TRAVEL BEHAVIOUR: A CASE OF RAJASTHAN, INDIA
This study examines travel behaviour of individuals differentiated with respect to gender, occupation and area using survey data collected from a city and a village in northern India. Doing this not only helps in analysing which section of the population produces the lowest carbon footprint but also in highlighting the existing difficulties faced by a certain section in choosing the most comfortable, the cheapest and the least polluting attitude towards every day travel. While the group of rural women comprises of the least frequent travellers, that of urban men make the most frequent travellers. Disparities are also observed in the mode of transport used by different sections. Urban housewives walk, rural housewives use public transport; students, irrespective of the area or gender use public transport; and a growing percentage of working people use motorized two-wheelers. Because women heavily depend on walking or using the public transport, this study points out at the need for an adequate walking infrastructure in the city along with safer and secured public transportation services for both urban and rural area. The demand for expansion of such facilities also caters to the need of curtailing carbon footprint in the region. KEYWORDS: Travel behaviour, gender, area, occupation, India