Gender Differences and Women's Preferences in Factors Affecting Bicycle Use (Case study: Shiraz, Iran)

This study seeks to investigate the effects of environmental factors on the use or non-use of bicycles according to gender in urban travels in Iran. To this aim, while conducting a questionnaire survey among 304 bicycle users (163 males and 141 females) within the dedicated bicycle network in Shiraz, the t-test and regression statistical tests were used to investigate the preference differences between the two groups. Based on the findings of the aforementioned statistical tests, both men and women faced barriers to using bicycles in urban travels, although a difference was observed between the two genders in the effective environment they preferred. This difference is especially significant regarding socio-cultural indicators considering the specific traditional-religious context in Iran. Therefore, in addition to indicators such as sense of safety, path security, using dedicated bicycle lanes, path greenness, and attractiveness, women's cycling is significantly affected by indicators such as community custom and people's judgment along with religious norms. Based on the analysis, education of women about the benefits of using bicycles and the creation of synergy between cultural and religious institutions of the society to remove social, cultural, and normative barriers for women's cycling in Iran along with planning to increase urban bicycle transportation lanes with the necessary environmental qualities and standards can increase the per capita and eliminate the disparity in the number of men and women who cycle in developing countries such as Iran.