Should transit agencies in the United States try designating the first car of each subway or train for women only, as some systems do around the world? That question was posed to 31,000 Americans in a survey by YouGov this summer. 43% of Americans somewhat or strongly support the trains and subway systems nearest to them reserving a car for women only. In comparison, only 30% of Americans oppose the adoption of this policy, and 27% are not sure.
Support for this policy — which has been used in transit systems in Japan, India, Brazil, and others — exhibits a marked gender split among Americans: women are more likely than men to support it (48% vs. 38%) and less likely to oppose it (22% vs. 37%).
More-frequent transit ridership is associated with greater support for adopting women-only train and subway cars, based on results of an additional question asking about the frequency of public transportation usage. 60% of those who ride daily support the policy, as do 55% of those who ride weekly, 52% of those who ride monthly, 44% of those who ride a few times a year, and 37% of those who never ride transit. Americans who say that they never ride transit are the most likely to strongly oppose women-only train and subway cars. Younger riders are more supportive of women-only train and subway cars, with support ranging from 56% of adults under 30 supporting the cars to only 32% of Americans 65 and older.
35% of Americans say at least one of the following negative events has ever happened to them while using public transportation: unwanted staring, unwanted verbal remarks or cat-calling, unwanted touching, unwanted exposure, or theft of public property. As many — 36% — say they have never experienced any of these. These negative public-transit experience are more common among women than men (39% vs. 31%).
For every single form of these negative experiences while using public transit, people who say that each has happened to them support women-only subway cars to a greater extent. For example, among Americans who have experienced unwanted touching, 61% support women-only subway cars, compared to 43% of Americans overall. This is even more pronounced among women respondents who say they have experienced these negative events on transit than among men who have.
These results indicate significant interest from Americans in their local transit systems experimenting with women-only cars on trains and subways. Particularly in the context of decreased transit ridership nationwide in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, such a policy could potentially encourage transit use among women with previous negative experiences on public transportation.
— Carl Bialik contributed to this article
See the results for this poll:
- How often do you use public transportation?
- Would you support or oppose the trains and subway systems nearest to you reserving a car for women only?
- Have any of the following ever happened to you while using public transportation? Select all that apply.
Methodology: This Daily Questions survey was conducted online on June 21 - 24, 2024 among 31,624 U.S. adults. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, U.S. census region, and political party. The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 1%.
Image: Getty
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