Female commuters in NYC spend more over safety concerns: survey

Source: Xinhua| 2018-11-13 07:27:13|Editor: Yurou
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NEW YORK, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- Three in four women in New York have experienced some form of harassment or theft while using the city's public transit system, leading them to use alternative ways of commuting, thus causing additional cost, a study published this month reveals.

According to a survey conducted by New York University's Rudin Center for Transportation, safety challenges, especially sexual harassment, have prompted 29 percent of women in New York to avoid using public transit late at night, though most of the incidents occur during rush hours.

Meanwhile, 42 percent of female respondents said they feel safest while using for-hire services such as Uber and Lyft, which lead to a median extra cost of 26 to 50 U.S. dollars per month.

In comparison, 47 percent of male respondents have experienced harassment or theft while using public transportation, and only eight percent try other options late at night for safety reasons.

The median extra cost for men is zero, the study shows.

The results were based on nearly 550 respondents, about half of whom are women.

Authors of the study call the additional expense "pink tax" on women, a form of "gender-based price discrimination."

"More frequent users of public transportation are more likely to have experienced harassment or theft," the study says. "Women are more likely than men to change their behavior in order to avoid harassment."

The survey also shows that 88 percent of those who have been harassed did not report to the police.

Around 7.7 million people are riding on buses, subways or commuter rail cars on weekdays in New York City, the largest city in the United States with a population of some 8.6 million.

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