In Mumbai, the expanding economy has intensified the demand for efficient public transportation. However, the prevalent dependence on private vehicles, persistent traffic congestion and severely low air quality continues to be significant challenges for the city. While public transportation is crucial, its usage has declined (Comprehensive Transport Study, MMRDA, 2021) over the years due to various challenges faced by commuters, particularly women. According to a World Bank study (Dappe & Dappe 2023), women comprise 32% of public transit users, whereas their male counterparts account for 24%. Despite the notable preference exhibited by women for public transit modes, the absence of gender-disaggregated data presents a challenge in accurately capturing their experiences and needs. It is essential to capture the subjective experiences of women commuters for deeper understanding of their perspectives and facilitate the development of inclusive solutions in the realm of public transportation. This study bridges the gap of unavailable gender disaggregated data by collating insights on travel choices from 515 commuters, by using participatory methodologies such as surveys and semi-structured interviews. These surveys and interviews are specifically designed to capture the subjectivities which shed light on the disparity between men and women travel behavior and the special needs of women commuters. The gender disaggregated data collated for this research also establishes a relationship between gender, mobility, and climate change by assessing environmental emissions generated based on mode choice across gender and income categories. The study collates the challenges faced by women in accessing public transit and reveals that women exhibit a greater reliance on walking and public transit, resulting in lower per capita carbon emissions compared to their male counterparts in Mumbai.
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