Women’s Issues in Transportation: Summary of the 4th International Conference, Volume 2: Technical Papers (2011)

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179 Changing Travel Patterns of Women in the Netherlands Marie-José Olde Kalter, Lucas Harms, and Peter Jorritsma, KiM, Netherlands Institute for Transport Policy Analysis The Netherlands Institute for Transport Policy Analysis conducted a study to improve its understanding of the relationship between social developments, household composition, and women’s travel behavior, with special focus on the travel patterns and daily activities of women. Information was obtained by quantitative data analyses of existing data sources and in-depth interviews with experts. Multilevel analyses were conducted to identify the most important explanatory factors of travel behav- ior on the household level. This study analyzed not only women’s individual travel behavior, but also the travel behavior of women in different household types. Defini- tive results from this study will be available in May 2011. The study’s initial results reveal that the travel patterns of men and women are increasingly similar. Women are increasingly more mobile, they travel for longer periods, and they travel greater distances. Women have contrib- uted substantially to the rise in mobility in recent years. Their increasing labor force market participation is a driv- ing force behind the fact that women must now travel more often, and travel great distances, to their workplaces. Because of the increasing number of two-income house- holds, various activities must more often be coordinated with another member of the household. Various factors influence the mobility of the Dutch population. Employed people, for example, travel greater distances than unemployed people; car owners use public transportation less frequently; and people from two-income households travel more often than people from one-income households. Recent decades have witnessed increasing numbers of women joining the workforce, sharp rises in the number of women who possess driver’s licenses and own cars, and significant changes in women’s roles in the family. These, and other developments, have ensured that women’s travel behav- ior is no longer the same as it was 20 years ago. The Netherlands Institute for Transport Policy Analy- sis (KiM) therefore conducted a study on the relation- ship between various social developments and women’s travel behavior. This study focuses specifically on wom- en’s daily activity patterns and travel behavior. The fun- damental research questions are as follows: 1. How have certain key social developments, such as increased labor force participation and increased driver’s license possession and car ownership, influenced wom- en’s daily travels? 2. What changes have occurred in women’s daily activity patterns and travel routines? 3. How do household members coordinate their vari- ous daily activity patterns and how does this vary per household type? What consequences does this have for travel behavior? Applied dAtA KiM and the Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP) have jointly conducted this research, in which quantitative and qualitative approaches are taken to the subject.

180 WOMEN’S ISSuES IN TRANSPORTATION, VOLuME 2 KiM is responsible for the quantitative analysis; describing and explaining women’s travel behavior. The Dutch National Travel Survey (MON), which is an annual study of the travel behavior of residents of the Netherlands, is a primary source used in this analysis. The MON data, which are available from 1985 to the present, offer insights into the number and types of trips undertaken, the travel times, the distances traveled, and the modes of transport used, as differentiated according to the various travel purposes. A second source of data is the Time–Budget Survey (TBO), which is a 5-year study of the Dutch population 12 years of age and older. The TBO aims to provide a comprehensive picture of the ways Dutch people spend their time during a week. Where required, other supple- mentary sources, such as, for example, Statistics Nether- lands (CBS) data, are referenced. SCP conducts in-depth research of the travel behavior of families with children and of the fundamental devia- tions and choices made concerning mobility.1 To support this research, in autumn 2009, SCP conducted 30 in-depth interviews with various types of households with children. SociAl poSition of Women Substantial Increase in Women’s Labor Force Participation Women’s labor force participation increased substantially during the past 20 years. Between 1987 and 2007, women’s net labor force participation2 rose by 22 percentage points (Figure 1). In comparison, men’s labor force participation in 2007 remained at the same level as in the late 1980s. 1 The SCP research results will be available in early 2011. 2 The share of the working population as a percentage of the total potential workforce. Women’s labor participation enjoyed particularly robust growth in the late 1980s and late 1990s, a fact attributable largely to changes in the labor market behavior of married women (Tijdens 2006): women continued to work after marrying and also after having their first child. Moreover, women who stopped working to care for children reen- tered the labor market at a later age. The Dutch labor market shows a high rate of part-time employment among women and men. In particular women work part-time. In the Netherlands about 75% of the women’s workforce is engaged in part-time jobs (Organi- sation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2007; Eurostat 2009; CBS 2009). Compared with other countries in the world, this figure is high (see Table 1). Boschet al. describe the underlying forces contributing to this high rate of women’s part-time employment (2008). At present, women who have children increasingly continue working. In 2006, fewer than one in 10 women stopped working when they had their first child, whereas between 1985 and 1989, more than half of all women stopped working after having a first child (CBS 2003). More highly educated women, in particular, continued working after childbirth. As of 2006, however, approxi- mately 25% of women worked fewer hours after having a child (Mol 2008). Part-time jobs (20 to 27 h per week) are especially popular among women with children, and this also corresponds to the degree to which the Dutch population finds it acceptable for mothers to continue working. Approximately 50% of the population regards a 2-day or 3-day working week appropriate for women whose children are not yet of school age, whereas, for men, a large majority of the population regards a 4- or 5-day working week as appropriate (SCP 2006). Because women more often have jobs, and work lon- ger hours, an increasing number of men and women combine paid work with unpaid work, such as house- hold duties and care providing. The percentage of people 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 Men Women FIGURE 1 Net labor force participation, by gender, 1987–2007. (Source: CBS Statline.)

181CHANgINg TRAVEL PATTERNS OF WOMEN IN THE NETHERLANDS who combine a minimum of 12 h of paid work with 12 h of unpaid work rose from 16% in 1980, to 38% in 2005. Approximately four out of 10 women are multitaskers, while that figure is nearly one-third for men. Women Increasingly More Highly Educated There is a correlation between net labor force partici- pation and education levels, especially among women. Consequently, nearly eight out of 10 women who have polytechnic or university degrees are employed, com- pared with the 17% of mothers with basic high school diplomas that are employed (SCP 2006). For men, there is rarely a correlation between education levels and labor force participation. In 2005, nine out of 10 men with higher education degrees and high school diplomas were employed. The difference in education levels among men and women has continued to decrease during the past two decades. Over the years, both men and women have become more highly educated, although women have clearly gained ground in this respect, which is particularly apparent in the sharp decline in the number of women who possess only primary school or high school diplo- mas. Between 1985 and 2007, the number of women between 25 and 49 years of age who completed a higher vocational or higher technical education degree program quadrupled. The 2006–2007 academic year marked the first time in Dutch history that more women than men were enrolled in universities (CBS 2008). Income Inequality Remains given the development of education levels and increases in women’s labor force participation, one could assume that women’s earning power has also improved, and this is indeed the case, according to Dutch Emancipa- tion Monitor (SCP 2006). In 1990, women earned 28% of all the personal income in the Netherlands, whereas by 2004, that figure had increased to 34%. Because of rising incomes, women now have greater influence on family expenditures. Yet, the annual income of women who live together with a partner nevertheless remains two times lower than for men (CBS 2007). Moreover, only one-fifth of income-earning women earn more than their male partners. Income inequality between men and women has not decreased since 2003 (CBS 2009). That women earn less than men is partly a result of the fact that women often work part-time. Moreover, average salaries for women are lower than for men. Increasingly More Single Women Feminism has also affected women’s roles in the family. Marriage is no longer self-evident, and both women and men live alone for longer periods of time. With regard to families with children, women now give birth later in life, and the number of children per family is declining. Moreover, the past two decades have seen increases in the number of single women and childless couples. The percentage of single people has increased among all age groups, with nearly a fifth of all women now single, com- pared with one in 12 women in the late 1980s. Gaining in Driver’s License Possession and Car Ownership More men than women possess driver’s licenses, but the discrepancy by gender in possessing driver’s licenses has continued to decrease in recent decades. In the late 1980s, eight out of 10 men possessed driver’s licenses, whereas for women that figure was 56%. Driver’s license possession among men has remained relatively constant, whereas women, conversely, have made substantial gains: in 2007, nearly three-quarters of all women had driver’s licences. In the future the difference in driver’s license possession between men and women will be negligible. For the groups ages 25 to 34, nine out of 10 women and men currently possess driver’s licenses. There is also a clear discrepancy in car ownership among men and women 18 years of age and older. Men in all age groups are more likely to own a car than are women (Figure 2), and that is the case particularly for the group ages 50 and over; however, women are indeed quickly “catching up” to men. In the late 1980s, men were three times more likely to own a car than were women, whereas, 20 years later, men are only one and a half times more likely to be car owners. TABLE 1 Labor Force Participation: Part-Time Employment in 2009 Women (%) Men (%) Netherland 75.3 23.9 Belgium 40.9 7.9 germany 45.4 9.4 Spain 22.7 4.2 France 29.4 5.8 Italy 27.9 5.3 Finland 18.2 8.9 Sweden 41.4 13.3 united Kingdom 41.8 11.3 Norway 43.6 14.4 Switzerland 59.0 13.5 united States 17.8 — Australia 40.7 — Note: — = not available. Source: Eurostat.

182 WOMEN’S ISSuES IN TRANSPORTATION, VOLuME 2 Women And men trAvel differently Women and men do not exhibit the same travel behavior, and this disparity in travel behavior is apparent not only more or less in kilometers traveled, but also in the choice of alternative modes of transport, in the time spent trav- eling, and in the reasons that men or women travel. Women Continue Traveling Longer and Farther In 2007, males and females, ages 12 and older undertook the same number of trips: an average of three trips per day, per person; however, females traveled significantly shorter distances and spent significantly less time travel- ing than men did. Women spent, on average, approx- imately 60 min traveling about 30 km per day. Men, meanwhile, spent an average of 70 min traveling 42 km per day (see Table 2). During the past 22 years, the number of trips undertaken per day increased slightly for women, and decreased for men. Women, moreover, are also traveling increasingly greater distances and spending more time traveling. Men still travel for longer periods of time and greater distances than women, but the difference is decreasing. Women’s travel behavior generally is becoming increas- ingly similar to that of men (Figure 3). gossen and Purvis (2004) and Rosenbloom (2000) report more or less the same trends. Longer Home-to-Work Distances In 2007 men on average traveled 7 km more per day than women for commuting, largely a result of the fact that more men are employed and have longer home-to-work travel distances. Working women have an average home-to-work travel distance of approximately 13 km, whereas for work- ing men that figure is 20 km. This agrees with the findings of Molnár (2005), whose research revealed that women, on average, worked 8 km closer to home than men did. Turner 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 18–24 years 25–49 years 50–64 years >64 years Netherlands 1987 1997 2007 FIGURE 2 Ratio of car ownership for men and women by age group, 1987–2007. [Sources: CBS 1987, 1997; Dutch Ministry of Transport’s Centre for Transport and Navigation (DVS) 2007.] TABLE 2 Trip Rates, Distance, and Travel Time, by Gender: 1985–2007 1985 2007 Percent Change Variable Women Men Women Men for Women Trips per person 2.9 3.3 3.1 3 7 Total distance per person per day (km) 20.8 38.5 28.9 42.2 39 Total travel time per person per day (min) 50.9 72.4 59.4 70.5 17 Sources: Statistics Netherlands (CBS) 1985; Dutch Ministry of Transport’s Centre for Transport and Navigation (DVS) 2007.

183CHANgINg TRAVEL PATTERNS OF WOMEN IN THE NETHERLANDS and Niemeier (1997) and Rosenbloom and Burns (1994) found similar results. Women work closer to home because they need to balance work and household responsibilities and promptly respond to family emergencies. Since the late 1980s, the difference in home-to-work distances between men and women has slightly increased. There has been little change in the travel times to and from work (Harms 2008). Men spend approximately 4 h per week traveling to and from their workplaces, whereas women spend approximately 3 h per week traveling to and from their workplaces, which, as a proportion of the total number of working hours, accounts for approxi- mately 10% of the total working hours (Table 3) of both men and women. On the basis of an 8-h working day, this means that men, on average, spend 50 min per day traveling, or roughly 25 min to and 25 min from their workplaces, which was the case in 1975 and remained so in 2005. The only major difference is that there are now more people employed; consequently, per head of the population (employed and unemployed), more time is now spent working and traveling. Although there has been little change in the time spent for home-to-work travel, people have, over the years, begun traveling more often by car and less often by pub- lic transportation and bicycle (Table 3). Once again, the greatest changes have occurred among women: in 1975 cars accounted for 30% of home-to-work travel times, whereas in 2005 that figure had risen to more than 50%. Meanwhile, in contrast, walking and traveling by bicycle sharply declined: this percentage fell from nearly 50% in 1975, to just over 30% in 2005. From the point of view of sustainable transportation this is a serious development. 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 trips pp pd km pp pd min pp pd FIGURE 3 Ratio of number of trips, kilometers traveled, and travel times for men and women, 1985–2007 (pp = per person, pd = per day). (Sources: CBS 1985–2003; Dutch Ministry of Transport’s Centre for Transport and Navigation (DVS) 2004–2007.) TABLE 3 Time Spent Traveling for Work by Population Ages 20 to 64, by Gender: 1975–2005 Net Working Net Travel Share of Travel Travel Time Travel Time Labor Market Hours (hours Time (hours Travel Time by by Walking by Public Year Participation (%) per week) per week) Time (%) Car (%) or Bicycle (%) Transport (%) Total 1975 47.6 36.2 3.9 9.7 52 29 19 1985 47.5 35.3 3.7 9.4 61 25 14 1995 55.8 35.4 3.7 9.5 60 26 13 2005 64.5 35.6 3.7 9.4 63 24 13 Men 1975 76.5 37.9 4.1 9.7 56 26 18 1985 69.4 37.6 3.8 9.2 66 23 11 1995 76.1 38.9 3.9 9.2 65 25 11 2005 76.3 40.2 4.1 9.2 69 20 12 Women 1975 18.4 29.1 3.0 9.3 30 47 23 1985 25.2 28.8 3.2 10.0 43 32 26 1995 36.4 28.5 3.2 10.2 48 31 21 2005 52.7 28.9 3.1 9.7 53 31 16 Source: SCP, TBO.

184 WOMEN’S ISSuES IN TRANSPORTATION, VOLuME 2 Much Shorter “Care-Providing” Trips The past two decades have revealed increasingly marked differences in the travel behavior of childless women and women with children. Women with children undertake more trips: they first bring their children to day care or school and then travel to work; after work they pick up their children, shop, and take their children to after-school activities such as music lessons or sports—all of which, in some cases, can account for more than six trips per day. This trip chaining is substantially a female characteristic of everyday mobility (Nobis and Lenz 2004; Mcguckin and Murakami 1999; Hunecke 2000). Men with children also undertake more trips than childless men. During the past two decades, women’s activity pat- terns have become increasingly similar to those of men. As a result of increased labor force participation, women more often travel to and from work; however, the responsibility of dropping off and picking up children remains a woman’s task: mothers undertake the most “care-providing” trips. In more than 25% of all cases, women between the ages of 30 and 39 state their reasons for traveling as picking up or dropping off people (read: children), whereas the corresponding figure for men is less than 10% of all trips undertaken. An average of 17 h per week (Table 4) is devoted to household duties (cleaning, shopping) and caring for children, and in this, too, significant differences exist between men and women: men spend approximately 10 h per week on these duties, whereas women spend an average of 23 h per week. Starting in the 1970s, however, this unequal sharing of duties based on gender has been somewhat rectified. Travel times devoted to performing household duties have substantially increased since 1975 (Harms 2008). In 1975, household and care-providing duties “cost” an average of 1 h and 20 min per week in travel time (7% of the total time devoted to household, care-providing duties, or both; see Table 4), whereas, 30 years later, that figure had increased to 2 h and 20 min (13%). People also more frequently used cars to perform these duties in half of all cases in 2005. In contrast, pub- lic transportation, as well as walking and cycling, has become less popular. On balance, people now travel lon- ger distances than previously, and more often use cars, to perform their household duties. Women Increasingly Prefer Cars Cars are men’s preferred mode of transport, with half of all trips undertaken by car. Women are now using cars slightly more often, for more than four out of 10 trips. Men travel nearly 2.5 times more kilometers by car than women, and men also make one and a half times more trips by car than women (Figure 4). Since 1987, the number of trips women make as car drivers has risen sharply, which, conversely, has reduced the number of trips women make as car passengers (Figure 5). For men, the share of trips undertaken as car drivers has remained relatively constant since 1987. That women now undertake more trips as car drivers is partly the result of increases in women possess- ing driver’s licenses and owning cars. According to the literature (Kwan 2000), the increase in female car use has to do with the female-specific daily routines characterized by high space–time rigidity. The car is more suitable to perform complex spatial–temporal activity patterns than any other means of transport (Nobis and Lenz 2004). TABLE 4 Time Spent by Population Ages 12 Years and Older Traveling for Household and Care-Providing Duties, by Gender: 1975–2005 HH Share HH and Care Travel Time Share of Travel Travel Time Travel Time of Care Providing (hours (hours per Travel Time by by Walking by Public Year Providing (%) per week) week) Time (%) Car (%) or Bicycle (%) Transport (%) Total 1975 48.2 17.8 1.4 7.2 37 53 10 1985 53.2 17.8 1.6 8.1 43 50 8 1995 53.3 16.9 2.1 10.0 46 48 6 2005 55.9 16.5 2.4 12.6 50 45 5 Men 1975 17.7 7.6 1.0 11.6 48 44 8 1985 27.2 9.1 1.2 11.4 52 41 7 1995 29.2 9.7 1.6 13.9 55 39 5 2005 35.1 10.3 1.8 14.8 58 36 6 Women 1975 78.0 27.7 1.8 6.0 31 58 12 1985 78.5 26.3 2.0 7.0 38 55 8 1995 76.2 23.6 2.6 9.7 41 53 6 2005 75.9 22.6 3.0 11.6 45 51 4 Note: HH = household. Source: SCP, TBO.

185CHANgINg TRAVEL PATTERNS OF WOMEN IN THE NETHERLANDS Concerning the changing position of women, this is also true for the Netherlands. Men and women also differ in their use of other modes of transport. Men and women travel by train at relatively the same rate. Women more often travel by bicycle than men do, but men travel more kilometers by bicycle. The greatest difference in bicycle use is among men and women ages 35 to 39: women in this age group use bicycles for more than a quarter of all trips, whereas men make only one out of six trips by bike. Although an increasing number of parents bring their children to school by car (Veilig Verkeer Nederland 2007), the high percentage of bicycle trips made by women ages 35 to 39 is attributable primarily to the fact that these women use bicycles to pick up and drop off their children at school (Harms 2008). This is specific to the Netherlands. Preissner and Hunecke argue that safety reasons play an important role for women’s increasing car use (2002). 0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 Car as passenger Train Bus, Tram, or Metro Moped or Scooter Bike Walking Other Car as driver Kilometers traveled Number of trips FIGURE 4 Modes of transport used by men and women in 2007, in relation to the number of kilometers traveled and number of trips undertaken by men and women, expressed as a ratio of men to women. [Source: Dutch Ministry of Transport’s Centre for Transport and Navigation (DVS) 2007).] 0 20 40 60 80 100 1985 1987 1989 Pe rc e n t 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 Car as driver Car as passenger Train Bus/tram/metro Moped/scooter Bike Walking Other FIGURE 5 Modal split for women, 1985–2007. [Sources: CBS 1985–2003; Dutch Ministry of Transport’s Centre for Transport and Navigation (DVS) 2004–2007.]

186 WOMEN’S ISSuES IN TRANSPORTATION, VOLuME 2 Women’S trAvel BehAvior explAined Since the mid-1980s the rate of mobility for females ages 12 and older has increased by 61% (Table 5), as expressed in the number of kilometers traveled. This growth is attributed particularly to a sharp rise in car use. Compared with 1985, the total number of trips women undertake by car has increased by nearly 50%, and the distance traveled per car trip has risen from 13 km in 1985, to 14.5 km in 2007. The sharp increase in car use among women is virtually wholly attributable to increases in car use by women as car drivers, which, when expressed in kilometers traveled, accounts for 85% of the total increase in car use since 1985. Because of the sharp rise in car use among women, the number of kilometers traveled by car will serve to intensify the explanation for women’s increased mobility. On a more abstract level, increased car use (expressed in kilometers traveled as car drivers) can be attributed to the following two factors: 1. Volume effect—an increase in the number of women undertaking trips (population growth), and 2. Behavioral effect—women, on average, undertake trips (a) more often and (b) of greater distances (because of economic developments, among other factors). In addition, distinctions can be drawn between travel purposes, for example, between home-to-work travel and leisure-time trips. To what extent can the growth in car travel among women be attributed to volume and behavioral effects and the purpose for undertaking trips? This is sum- marized in Figure 6, which reveals that, since 1985, a significant part of women’s increased car use (+151%) is attributable to behavioral changes, namely, the fre- quency of trips (+82%), but also an increase in the dis- tances of trips (+42%). The volume effect of there being more women (population growth) accounts for approxi- mately 7% of the total increase (+10%). Other factors (+17%) account for the remaining growth. Increase in Commuter Trips Equals 32% More Car Use That women travel more to and from work is attributed to increased labor force participation. To illustrate this point: a third of all women in the 15- to 65-year-old age group held part-time jobs of at least 12 h per week in 1985, whereas in 2007 this figure was more than 50%. Increase in Commuter Travel Distances Equals 27% More Car Use Various underlying factors account for the increase in distances traveled to and from work. The developments mentioned in the following paragraphs have contributed to the increase in work-to-home distances. Incomes, Car Ownership, and Car Use Increased economic prosperity has led to a rise in per- sonal incomes and a subsequent increase in the rate of car ownership. In 1985, there were 4.5 million cars in the Netherlands; in 1990, more than 5 million cars; and in 2009, approximately 7.4 million cars owned by 7.2 million households. In particular, second car owner- ship has increased significantly in recent years: 20% of Dutch households own two or more cars, and 2% of all households (more than 150,000 households) own three or more cars. Expansion of the Housing Market People continue to set higher standards for housing and residential communities. People have more income to spend than in the past, and therefore they also demand higher-quality housing and residential quality of life. Meanwhile, regional disparities in housing prices continue to increase. In Amsterdam, for example, housing prices are far higher than in surrounding municipalities, and Amster- dam’s housing prices have also risen much more steeply in recent years (de Jong et al. 2008). The same applies for housing markets in other urban areas. The growing price differential between housing in cities and in outlying areas is, presumably, a driving factor behind increases in home- to-work distances. TABLE 5 Mobility Growth for Population Ages 12 Years and Older: 1985–2007 Mobility growth growth (billions of kilometers) Rate 1985 2007 (%) All modes of transport Total 124.4 171.1 37 Men 80.1 99.9 25 Women 44.3 71.1 61 Car driver Total 61.0 93.7 54 Men 50.1 66.2 32 Women 10.9 27.5 151 Car passenger Total 30.2 32.9 9 Men 11.1 11.0 0 Women 19.1 21.9 15 Source: Statistics Netherlands (CBS) 1985; Dutch Ministry of Transport’s Centre for Transport and Navigation (DVS) 2007.

187CHANgINg TRAVEL PATTERNS OF WOMEN IN THE NETHERLANDS Expansion of the Labor Market Increasingly more people, and especially women, have completed higher and specialized education programs, and this corresponds to the increasingly higher and more specialized requirements demanded of employees. This has decreased the likelihood of a person finding a suitable job within a given distance from home, which consequently has increased the average home-to-work travel distances (Ver- meulen 2003; van Wee et al. 2002). The increase of two- income households has also led to labor market expansion. When choosing a place to live, two-income households must consider the one location in light of their two separate workplaces, and this too has led to increases in the aver- age home-to-work distances (van Ham 2003). The german sociologist Beck identifies this phenomenon as the rise of the Spagatfamilien (“detached family”): the modern two- income household with one base or residence and several spatially divided workplaces, schools, or both (1986). Moreover, because more women possess driver’s licenses and own cars, women are able to travel greater distances to work. Women who possess driver’s licences and own cars are able to live farther away from their workplaces. Increase in Travel Distances and Number of Trips for Leisure Activities Equals 68% More Car Use Rising incomes, increased car ownership, and the lowering costs of car use have also contributed to sharp increases in the number and distances of leisure time trips. In addition, developments in the demand for, and the supply of, leisure time activities also play a role here. Briefly stated, people maintain increasingly more hectic and varied leisure time lifestyles, for which they are increasingly prepared to spend more money and travel greater distances to satisfy (Harms 2006). Moreover, the number of leisure time places and activities has rapidly expanded. An additional contributing factor is that women’s attitudes toward leisure time have changed over the years (Harms 2003). Van Schendelen found that working women led more active leisure time lifestyles than nonworking women, and moreover work- ing women were more orientated toward leisure activities undertaken away from home (1992). concluSion The “gender gap” refers to the differences between men and women with respect to mobility. Men, on average, have always undertaken longer trips than women; how- ever, during the past 20 years, women have indeed closed the gap on men in this respect, and that is true especially for women with children, who have rapidly increased the distances they travel in their daily lives. The gender gap is the smallest with regard to younger women; there is a negligible difference in the travel behavior of young women and men. During the past 20 years, Dutch people have become increasingly dependent on the car. The development of a 1985 100 2007 251 More women +10% Increase number workers +32% Income + car ownership + cost car use Labor market participation of women Increase and more varied supply of leisure time activities Increase demand for leisure time activities Expansion labor market Expansion housing market Other +17%Further for leisure +16% More frequent for leisure +50%Increase home-work distance +27% FIGURE 6 Explanation of women’s car use, 1985–2007. [Sources: CBS 1985–2003; Dutch Ministry of Transport’s Centre for Transport and Navigation (DVS) 2004–2007.]

188 WOMEN’S ISSuES IN TRANSPORTATION, VOLuME 2 car-dependent society has intensified because more women are now gainfully employed and, consequently, more often must combine jobs and household tasks, and because women lead more active leisure time lifestyles. These changes have placed intense time pressure on the spatial and temporal planning and organization of daily life, leav- ing people feeling obliged to use a car, which many people regard as the most suitable mode of transport for flexibly combining all the various work and leisure time activities. Research has revealed • An increase in car use among women; • A decrease in cycling, public transport, and walk- ing among women; • An increase in commuter distances among women; and • An increase in short-distance trips by car in regard to care activities. A large portion of the growth in car use can be attrib- uted to increases in women’s labor force participation: women travel more often and farther distances for their work, but not as far as men do. Previous studies in the Netherlands—Steg and Kalfs (2000), Batenburg and Knulst (1993), and MuConsult (1998)—have also estab- lished this relationship. One important goal of Dutch policy concerning gen- der mainstreaming was (and still is) to increase women’s labor force participation. Indeed this policy has been suc- cessful. The effects of this, among other factors, are still not tackled: increasing car use because of combining jobs and household tasks and several spatially divided work- places, schools, or both. Awareness among national pol- icy makers is growing as is cooperation between various administrative bodies. Solutions can be sought in con- centrating public functions, such as schools and shops, to reduce travel distances and the use of the car. The trend of increasing car use and declining public transport use among women can be rather important for transport companies as well. They have to adapt their strategies to win new customer groups. The decrease in cycling and the increase of short- distance trips by car, in regard to care activities, is from the point of view of sustainable transportation and health a serious development. Emissions of carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide levels in metropolitan areas are rising and will continue to do so in the future, as mobility is rising as well. Car dependency has to be reduced by implementing policies aimed at promoting cycling again. Cycling is expected to be most effective when it focuses on trips of distances less than 7.5 km in metropolitan areas. Education campaigns, pricing poli- cies, and spatial policies can contribute to this. More important is the future role of men. Travel patterns are highly correlated with employment status and family obligations. As long as women spend more time on household activities than men do, women’s car dependency will not be reduced. The choice for other means of transport will diminish. In the Netherlands, there is a gender mainstream policy aimed at reducing these differences. unfortunately little attention is paid to how to integrate this with transport and spatial policies. The only related policy by the Ministry of Transport is promoting e-work. This could have an impact on work- ing women and men in the sense of combining house- hold and work activities in a more efficient way. The number of short-distance trips by car could be reduced (less trip chaining) and moreover the use of the bicycle could increase again. Men could spend more time on household activities. For transport policy it is crucial to know what will happen if household responsibilities are shared equally by men and women. What impact will it have on modal choice? 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