Women’s Issues in Transportation: Summary of the 4th International Conference, Volume 1: Conference Overview and Plenary Papers (2011)

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11 BReAKOuT SeSSION Mobility and Safety Issues for Youth and Young Adults Tonya Holland, Federal Transit Administration, Presiding Piyushimita (vonu) Thakuriah, University of Illinois, Chicago e. Owen D. Waygood, Kyoto University, Japan Tonya Holland presided over the session on mobil-ity and safety issues for youth and young adults, which explored young women’s transportation and labor market experiences and the role of mothers in transit-oriented development. young women’s TransporTaTion and labor marKeT experienCes Piyushimita (Vonu) Thakuriah, Lei Tang, and Shashi Menchu The purpose of this research is to examine the mobility, transportation, and labor market conditions of young adults from a gendered perspective and develop policy recommendations regarding the mobility needs of young women to facilitate improved labor market outcomes. The primary research questions addressed are (a) How do the transportation and labor market experiences of young women compare with those of young men? and (b) What factors are likely to contribute to the transpor- tation experiences of young women? The study used the National longitudinal Survey of Youth (NlSY), which is a panel data set of a large sample of respondents. Gender differences are exam- ined in several labor market indicators, including age at entry into the labor force, number of jobs, number of weeks worked per year, and average earnings. The transportation indicators analyzed are perceptions of young women regarding difficulties associated with transportation, job search distance, and the duration of time they remain without a car after entering the labor force. Young women are more likely to restrict job searches geographically if they perceive difficulties with travel and transportation conditions. Marital status often determines the timing for young women to gain access to vehicles. They are less likely than men to have a vehicle when single. whaT is The role of moThers in TransiT-orienTed developmenT? The Case of osaKa–KyoTo–Kobe, Japan E. Owen D. Waygood This research focuses on the role that parents, in par- ticular mothers, play in children’s travel in Japan. The majority of mothers in Japan are not employed outside the home, but their role in chauffeuring and accompany- ing children on their trips is much less than in Western societies. This paper discusses how cultural expectation and the built environment in the Osaka region of Japan contribute to children as young as 10 and 11 years of age traveling independently without adult accompaniment for the majority of trips. This independent travel in turn reduces the chauffeuring burden on parents. Chauffeur- ing children in the united States and other Western coun- tries is mostly conducted by mothers. The study looks at surveys of children ages 10 to 11 from nine different schools in varying neighborhoods in the Osaka region. The child-friendly travel diaries show that parents accompanied children for less than

12 WOMeN’S ISSueS IN TRANSPORTATION, vOluMe 1 15% of their trips on weekdays, while data from the united States indicate that more than 65% of week- day trips made by American children are accompanied by a parent. Further, the average daily travel time was 40 minutes for children in Japan versus 72 minutes for their American counterparts, despite a similar number of trips per day. TopiCs for furTher researCh 1. Conduct more research to better understand the mobility needs and travel patterns of young women ages 18 to 24 who are entering the work force. 2. explore opportunities to increase car ownership and car sharing for young female professionals to facili- tate their ability to gain employment and commute to their jobs. 3. Compare wages for males and females on the basis of access to an automobile. 4. Analyze parental chauffeuring trends on the basis of sociodemographic characteristics such as income and education, and for different built environments. 5. explore how societal values and beliefs can affect travel patterns of parents and children and how that relates to impacts on independent travel, exercise, social interaction, and other important metrics of children’s development.