What’s up with women and cycling? Why are there less women than men using bicycles in São Paulo

Abstract

The scarce data about the use of bicycles in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo indicates a low share of female on trips with this mode. However, surveys carried out by the Urban Cyclists Association of São Paulo showed a considerable increase in the number of women using commuting-oriented bicycles in roads where infrastructure for bicycles was implemented. While this might indicate that the provision of infrastructure is relevant to motivate women to adopt cycling as means of transportation, this growth was not uniform across the territory, occurring to a greater extent in roads that connect more peripheral neighborhoods to central areas. In view of the recent implementation of cycling infrastructure in Sao Paulo, as opposed to the historical privilege given to motorized private modes, this paper intends to present and analyze the quantitative data available, concerning the mobility patterns in São Paulo. Focusing on the use of bicycles, in comparison to other modes, differentiating it by gender and income, this paper debates the aspects of cycle mobility, particularly for women. By doing so, it aims at contributing to overpass the simplistic correlation between the offer of cycling infrastructure and the increased use of bicycles by women, as well as raise hypotheses of the factors that might be considered by women to adopt commuting-oriented cycling in São Paulo, in order to help improve cycling policies.