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The cities with the most dangerous transport systems for women

Women travel on a bus in New Delhi
Women travel on a bus in New Delhi

Forty one per cent of women aged 18-34 have experienced unwanted attention or sexual harassment on the London Underground.

Despite this the Tube is considered safer for women than the transport system in Paris and far less dangerous than New Delhi and Mexico City.

The Thomson Reuters Foundation and YouGov asked more than 6,550 women in 15 of the world’s 20 largest capital cities, plus New York, how safe they felt when travelling on public transport.

The questions addressed the following five points:

  1. How safe women felt travelling alone at night
  2. The risk of being verbally or physically harassed
  3. The likelihood that other passengers would come to their assistance
  4. Trust that authorities would investigate reports of harassment or violence
  5. The availability of safe public transport

Mary Crass, head of policy at the OECD’s International Transport Forum, said:

When there is not frequent, reliable, accessible transport, this can affect women and anyone's ability to access opportunity and notably employment in urban areas, which can make a big difference for women in particular.

Below are the cities with the most dangerous transport systems for women:

1. Bogota, Colombia

2. Mexico City, Mexico

3. Lima, Peru

4. New Delhi, India

5. Jakarta, Indonesia

6. Buenos Aires, Argentina

7. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

8. Bangkok, Thailand

9. Moscow, Russia

10. Manila, Philippines

11. Paris, France

12. Seoul, South Korea

13. London, England

14. Beijing, China

15. Tokoy, Japan

16. New York, USA

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