Female needs and hacks in mobility

Insights into women’s mobility needs

Published in

Female Mobility

16 min readOct 6, 2019

Authors: Frieda Bellmann, Diana Polack, Lieke Ypma
You are reading an excerpt. Read the full article here.

Transportation development has long been driven by technical descriptions, often car-centric and male-dominated. Has this resulted in a system that has overlooked women’s perspectives? Women have different travel patterns compared to men. What are female mobility needs?

We have investigated the concept of female mobility from the end-user perspective. We have gained insights from over 40 women using a workshop format at White Octopus in Berlin. Afterwards, the authors of this article defined opportunities that inspire innovation. This article focusses on the use cases that were object of study during the workshop. If you are interested in future opportunities, read the full article here.

In user-centric design, we design offerings based on user needs. When we truly empathize with our objects of study, we understand their emotional, functional and social needs. This is an enlightening moment; it literally flips our world upside down. This creates refreshing perspectives. In the workshop, we are both users and professionals. Phrasing out individual experiences and confirming patterns helps to (re)emphasize the topics that play a role in female mobility.

The following use cases were our focus in our workshop with 40 women: traveling alone at night, combining family care with a paid job, including dog mobility in daily life, and moving between business meetings downtown. It becomes clear that being on the road means: keeping timelines, optimizing time by organizing work and social life, feeling safe and being safe, being nice to each other, and keeping up appearances.

We’ve come to accept the normal state of feeling unsafe at night, and learnt to work around it.

Use case I — traveling alone at night

The choice of transport at night is driven by the users’ feeling of physical safety. Studies show that women feel more unsafe than men on Berlin’s public transport, especially at night (Büch, Mint Conference 2019). What can be done?

Women are said to be more careful and cautious when navigating traffic. We know, that most fatal car accidents are caused by men — which supports the impression that women drive more safely. Women are also more likely to take on the household planning. Our female workshop participants unraveled the detailed planning women often undertake before a night out. The questions they ask themselves are: How do I get there and back? How safe is the location and the surroundings? Is it possible to get home from there? With which means of transport do I feel safe on the route at night? Do I want to have a drink and have to leave my car or bicycle at home? How much money do I want to spend on my transportation? Is the last mile of the night reasonable and the road illuminated? What items do I have with me that are valuable? What will the weather be like later? Is my phone charged? How can I defend myself in case of an attack?

“Will I go home with others later, or will I be alone?”

The route towards the event location therefore differs from the way back in several ways. Interesting are the activities that take place on both routes. On the way there, e.g. on the first mile to the train station, our participants do things such as making telephone calls to take care of various errands. At night on the way back, our users make phone calls too, but for the sole reason to feel safer. We have spoken to women who pretend to make a phone call when they feel they are being followed.

Many women tell us that the last mile is most challenging. Streets may be poorly lit and empty. Some women take a detour to walk on busier and wider streets, and to avoid parks. Others rustle with their bunch of keys so that the potential attacker thinks they live in that area and the neighbors watch out. Another participant holds the keychain as a weapon in her fist and lets the keys stick out between her fingers, or even carry a pepper spray can. On that last mile, everything has to go quickly. “But don’t run too fast, otherwise you’ll look weak and draw attention to yourself,”, one of the participants told us. Then finally back in their hallway, the door is pushed into the lock from the inside to make sure no one can follow. We spoke to a woman who would look down from her balcony once home to see if anyone had followed her. And we spoke to those who immediately write a message to friends or family from their cell phones to inform them that they have arrived home safely.

In the subway, women from our workshop are looking for safe islands. They try to avoid waiting too long in the subway station downstairs. And if they have to, they like to join groups that look trustworthy. Another trick women employ is to alight the first wagon when the subway arrives so that they can knock on the driver’s door if necessary. Some of them check the passengers seated in the incoming train to assess how trustworthy those inside look and quickly decide which wagon to enter. If they pretend to (or actually do) listen to music with headphones, they feel they are less likely to be chatted up.

“When you walk home, it is better to switch the music off, because otherwise you can’t hear the sounds of footsteps behind you.”

What would be a good solution for the many pain points that women encounter on public transport, especially at night? Our participants brainstormed a digital bodyguard, street lights with motion sensors, monitored waiting rooms for women at underground stations, a music player that tracks your location while listening to music and stops when you turn off the music upon arrival home — just to make sure you don’t continue to share your location all night long. Our participants specify a heat-map feature that could be integrated in a widely used mobility app, or function as a standalone. In this feature, women help each other to feel more safe. By individual ratings, a kind of heat map is created by the community, which displays areas that should be avoided, and why. In addition, tips and hacks can be exchanged. The app shall also link its users in a train when getting home so that they can contact each other in risky situations, or call for help.

When the women told us their stories we recognized similar behavioral patterns. The participants, including ourselves, have accepted the normal state of feeling unsafe at night — and with good hacks and work-arounds learned to deal with it. Fear of physical aggression is an essential driver of mobility behaviors. Creating a platform to connect people who feel anxiety and collect relevant data is an opportunity. Take it!

We handle toddlers, strollers, bags, and all we want is arrive in-time and be kind.

Use Case II — Combining family care and a paid job

Despite the fact that a lot of modern men take responsibilities in family life, 75% of the world’s unpaid care work is done by women. The accompanying mobility patterns resulting from the combination of family care and a paid job is considered a typical female mobility case.

We found many women combine unpaid care work with their paid job, especially with children. Being under time pressure is natural. Time pressure is felt not only in the morning, when dropping off the kids at school to go to work, but also when returning home, as pickup slots are set. One lady shared with us her habit:

“I am constantly optimizing my time. For instance, when my son has his sports training at a new location, I scan the surroundings to find out what kind of errands I can run while I wait.”

We found women who became backpack planning experts. There are always three bags: the professional one, the kid’s one, and the one for groceries: “I bought a bigger backpack, so that I can fit the kids one in mine when we walk home.” And when they are in traffic, they watch the kids’ safety as well as their own. “I feel like I am thinking for all road users, and try to predict their behavior to increase safety for all.” One participant complained that it is very difficult to bike with a child, pointing out that the street layouts are rather made for single cyclists than for an adult plus kid(s), and regulations hardly support adult-with-kids combinations.

For our participants, trip-chaining is second nature. There is a lot of room for improvement when stopping along the way. This is regardless of which mode is chosen — micro mobility or car, shared, private or public, and especially for autonomous modes in the future. Shared services (such as DriveNow, Tier, Donkey) are considered a solid option for optimizing logistics, but we were told that it is too expensive for everyday use. Cost structures for parking a vehicle while running an errand are unclear, and shopping while usage charges are increasing by the minute is a stressful experience. So, it is not always clear what the cost for a stop is. Ending the rental before the errand, and renting a new shared vehicle after the errand, is not an option because the risk of losing the vehicle to another user is too high. Without a vehicle, and with a bag of groceries and a laptop, in the light of trip-chaining, this may result in being late to pickup the kids.

Mothers with toddlers don’t shy away from carrying their stroller down the metro stairs, avoiding often dirty and temperamental elevators. They continue to ride bikes that were never designed to carry kids — only with a greater time pressure in order to balance work and children time. One participant switches from the family’s cargo bike to her racing bike because she needed and loved the speed. The racer provides a feeling of self-determination. Simply put, the women we came to know are determined not to lose their (mobility) independence.

Moving away from mothers, we also covered care for elderly, both in cities and rural areas. Transportation can become a time-consuming entry on the schedule when loved ones lose their ability to move independently. Systems that are difficult to access affect the user’s independency. We won’t write an article about design for the elderly, but enhancing systems for the elderly to stay independent will have an effect on those who otherwise would have to leave work early to pick up their aunt to take her to her appointment, for example. If people’s mental and physical abilities decrease, it may become challenging to use many new mobility services that are otherwise intended for use by all citizens. We would like to inspire the industry to assess how fail-safe their system is for those who are dealing with memory failure, or who are visually, aurally or bodily impaired, or for those who are digitally not so well connected. It will benefit those who combine their daily job with caring for the elderly.

Ideas brainstormed under this use case spread all the way from inflatable child-airbags for shared cars and shared rides, eliminating the need of a child seat, to cooled lockers for storing groceries in public space, to enhance logistics. Participants thought of filters in our mobility apps that allow users to search which mode is recommended with kids, or with heavy bags, or with large items to transport. Participants also wrote up a shared ride service that is certified to deal with the elderly, both from a physical perspective as on a social level. We want to know which bus drivers are sensible, and we want stairs for slow or fast traffic at the subways.

Concluding, we find an overarching mindset: if on the road, taking care of children and the elderly, or organizing the care work, we want to arrive in-time, and be kind: kind to our loved ones who travel with us, and kind to other people who form part of the traffic. A system that is reliable is crucial in this perspective. With all obligations, women are still entitled to arrive on time; no matter what, the show must go on. Both objectives, being in time and kind, create an interesting field of tension where ideas can sprout.

How a dog can train our empathy.

Use Case III — Including dog mobility in daily life

Some of our workshop participants grouped around the caregiving of their dogs. Taking the needs of a dog seriously goes way beyond walkies. A dog is seen as a true companion and sometimes a full family member: “I am constantly on the outlook for locations that are dog-friendly, like shops, sports clubs, hotels, work environments.” Adapting to the dog’s needs may go far: “My husband and I have adapted our working conditions. I have found a dog-friendly workplace, he can frequently work from home.” When it comes to mobility they develop specific mobility routines because many restrictions are applied to dogs in transport, which may make it more demanding to get around than with children. Rentals and shared vehicles usually do not allow dogs, or are not made for them.

Preparations to getting around are heavy on planning — what means of transportation are suitable, and which errands need to be run throughout the day? Ideas discussed range from more dog-friendly green spaces and spacious pedestrian areas to reducing conflicts between user groups, mobility tickets for dogs, and adaptations in communicating rental and sharing offers outlining whether dogs are allowed, and what equipment is available. Equipment thought of include basket, bike leash, seat belt, and backpack. Subway carriages are thought of to accommodate „bulky items“ more easily, including dogs, buggies, walkers, pedal-scooters, and bikes, with no seats at all. The participants decided to further brainstorm an app called “Dog Mobility”, which connects information on mobility services, suitable routes with enough space so the dog can run alongside the bike, and dog-friendly destinations to make it easier to get around together.

Even though dog mobility may sound like a niche use case, we were delighted by the ideas that sprouted around the topic. It is typical to train your empathy. Why not perform a dog-audit on your product?

We want to get efficient and green from A to B — and look good at the same time.

Use case IV — Moving between business meetings downtown

In our 4th use case, we look at dealing with the scenario in which several meetings are distributed across the city.

Often these meetings are in places you do not know. So what does this mean for the planning process? Various factors influence the choice of the right means of transport for women. Most of those factors equal the perspective of men. Where are the venues located? What is the fastest and most comfortable connection? What will the weather look like? Can I park there? How far is the walk from the parking lot to the venue?

We must consider pros and cons of open vs closed vehicles, from small vs large vehicles, from private vs public vehicles. Riding a bicycle involves the risk of ruining your business dress, arriving totally sweaty or destroying your hairstyle. “With the Hövding airbag helmet, I keep my hairstyle”, says one participant. It looks like a collar, and inflates into a helmet airbag as soon as the sensor registers that the user is experiencing an abnormal movement, such as an abrupt fall or crash.

“I feel I have to justify the high price of the helmet. My purchase decision is perceived as more reasonable when I present the fact that the helmet is eight times safer than a normal helmet.”

Style is a purchase driver that makes an entire marketing industry go round. Do I dress adequately for riding my bike, or for business? Do I need rain protection? Where can I store it upon arrival? We spoke to a woman who would like a mirror on the bicycle stands in front of the office because when taking off her helmet she wants to check if she looks alright. Others rent a motorized vehicle as a Coup scooter or a Jump e-bike to arrive in a relaxed and sweat-free state. Don’t underestimate style as a driver when creating new mobility!

Some women in business experience a tension between status and impact. Their appearance is crucial, yet they also care for their impact on the environment. Hence, a shared e-scooter might create a young and urban appearance, and riding a bike might appear sporty and agile. The bicycle has a positive sustainability impact, the e-scooter less so. If the bicycle is of a high-priced brand, such as VanMoof, the connoisseurs among the business partners might recognize it. Of course, there are still environments where an expensive car is a must-have as a status symbol for a person in a high management position, female or male. But we hear more often that driving a car to a business meeting is seen as less en vogue, especially in modern urban social backgrounds.

Females who are under high time pressure use their journey to business meetings as preparation time: an advantage of traveling by subway is that our participants can read emails, check out the document for the morning stand-up or organize their private life. Commute time in a car is often used for phone calls. Having your own driver means you can actually work on the way to the office. A car brings the advantage of transporting large items for the meeting, or allows you to store objects in a safe place. We talked to women who store their dinner dress permanently in the car for a spontaneous event. Taxis are seen as a luxury door-to-door solution, and still considered a treat, even if some participants are highly irritated by smells, radio noise and aggressive driving styles of some taxi drivers. Others don’t want to conduct important or confidential business calls when a taxi driver may be listening.

Going to unknown places by bike holds the pain point of navigation. Good navigation means reliably arriving on time. How can the phone be attached to the (shared) bike? What to do with the phone in wet weather? Many have their phone at hand in their pockets and look up Googlemaps at every red traffic light. This results in hasty and risky situations and sometimes taking a wrong turn. A navigation solution is ideated, inspired by after-market products like Smart Halo. Participants picture an integrated handlebar that works both like an indicator showing where the driver is going and a navigation communicating the right way to the user so that the mobile phone can remain in the pocket. A GPS tracking in the product promises that the bicycle is always traceable and therefore theft-proof.

In conclusion, these are the main tensions when attending several business meetings downtown: style versus safety, environmental impact versus status, being prepared even if this means choosing the slower or less comfortable mode and reliability of on-time arrival.

More reliable, efficient and elegant mobility.

Conclusion on what female users want

From the insights described in above use cases, we have distilled opportunity areas that spark innovation. Read the full article here.

Women move differently, and that is ok. Diversity makes the world go round. We’ve seen that women in general have a greater need for flexibility. They create multi-modal travel patterns choosing the mode to fit the purpose. Women also perform inter-modal trips, combining several modes on one stretch. And women are more likely to schedule in a stopover (trip-chaining). To do so, they often rely on alternative transport, be it public, shared or private, be it electrified or manual. Women also feel more vulnerable when out and about alone. Women are more likely to create a tendency away from privately owned cars, which is good for any city. If cities respond to this tendency, making female mobility more reliable, efficient and more elegant, we can enhance the quality of life in our cities.

Described perspectives are not exclusive to women, but can enhance our view on diversity and alternative modalities in the mobility field. Perspectives described in this article can hardly be empathized in daily business reality — professionals in the field benefit from the detailed illustration of use cases and ideas as described in this article.

We would like to thank our participants for sharing their personal experiences in the workshop. We could not have done this without you! It is clear that there is more work to do than our 40 participants, or even all Women-in-Mobility can cover. With the quotes and ideas described in this article, we hope to inspire the industry to see mobility in all its diversity and to create actionable product offerings, together.