"I think it's more women on buses but I haven't thought about why" : A qualitative study of public transport and its relation to gender equality in Västerbotten County

ABSTRACT As the population across the world steadily increases, we become more globalized and travel more extensively. This burdens the environment and causes a decrease in safety, and increases congestion and pollution in both rural and urban areas. It is therefore vital to reduce these impacts and thus encourage more sustainable transport solutions. Studies show that men in general travel less sustainably than women, as they use cars for transportation more often. Women, however, use public transport to a greater extent. To be able to encourage a modal shift towards sustainable alternatives – thus creating an attractive public transport system for both women and men – it is essential to understand the underlying causes for these differences in attitudes and travel behaviour between men and women. The purpose of this thesis is to examine gender equality in relation to public transport. More specifically, the thesis will investigate how focusing on gender issues is significant in order to create and develop a sustainable public transport system. The method for this thesis is based on interviews, in which both frequent and less frequent bus travellers have shared their current notions and perceptions on public transport. Part of the aim has been to identify any differences between men and women’s answers and the way they discuss these issues. Furthermore, thematic coding analysis was used to analyse the results that led to five different themes being identified as most frequently mentioned during the interviews. The results were subsequently put into context with related academic research concerning gender equality, mobility, transportation and sustainability. Conclusively, the results show that there are tendencies for gender inequality within public transport in Västerbotten, which is expressed in several different ways by the respondents.