Public transport is very important to women all over the world as it is a very important part of their daily lives.

Through public transport, women have access to a wide range of services including health care, education, employment, transporting produce to markets with their young children, and escorting children to school. Generally the journey patterns of women and men differ, with womens travel times influenced by time, their domestic responsibilities and safety issues.

In the United Kingdom, the Equal Opportunities Commissions (EOC) research into gender issues within the transport sector revealed that 49 percent of men travel as car drivers compared with only 35 percent of womens trips.Women travel more as car passengers, on foot or by public transport particularly buses.
Overall in comparison with men, women have less mobility and fewer transport options.

In most urban cities and rural areas of Papua New Guinea ,the transport needs of women continues to be neglected by Transport authorities, the city commission and political leaders, while the transport needs of the elderly, disabled and children do not exist at all.

Many women restrict their movements or activities because they feel unsafe and this limits their basic right to frequent public places. Fear and feeling unsafe are major obstacles to the empowerment of women and prevent womens full participation in development.

Efficient and affordable transportation contributes to economic growth. A large portion of women throughout PNG participate in the informal sector providing services and trade in clothing, food, handcrafts and other small scale enterprises as well as the formal sector supplying trade, emergency, governmental and private sector services.
As equal contributors to development and as tax payers women deserve a fair go.

Women and children are dependent on PMVs to travel, yet the current transport system in place is dangerous, risky and not child friendly. The absence of an efficient, effective and safe transportation system for women, children, the elderly and the disabled is in itself a loud statement from leaders and relevant authorities that the vulnerable are insignificant and reflects a lack of recognition of their contribution to society. This is a net loss for communities and cities as the potentials of women go unutilized.

PMVs have earned themselves the reputation as Potential Murder Vehicles with women and girls being murdered in PMV buses as well as been raped, kidnapped, robbed and verbally and physically abused and sexually harassed by bus drivers, the crew and other male passengers.

In Port Moresby almost all the bus stops are unsafe at any time of the day. Most notorious are the stops at Two mile, Badili, Sabama, Konedobu, Boroko and Gordons Market where cowards armed with weapons prey on the weak and the defenceless by holding up the buses and robbing passengers who in most instances are women and school children.

Transport authorities need to focus on planning interventions that directly target the particular transport problems of women, in order to reduce their burdens. Failure to produce transport policies that meet the needs of women increases social exclusion. Research is required on the mobility needs of women in cities, their domestic responsibilities and their preferred work and leisure patterns.

Some examples of transport problems women face are:

• Ineffective transit/interchange system
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  For example, women who live in Kanudi and work in Waigani usually get stranded downtown and have to walk several kilometers home reaching their destination after dark.
  
  
• Women who travel with children and shopping are ordered to carry everything on their laps.
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• Women with market produce for sale are charged high fees for their cargo.
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• Never ending armed holdups at 2 mile bus stop and other stops.
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• Continued sexual and physical attacks, rape and harassment of women and girls inside buses.
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  There have been very positive outcomes when women are consulted. For example, in Norway, transport planners were better informed by local mothers as to where children played and what specific transport and safety needs should be addressed.
  
  Transport and relevant authorities have to carry out a gender audit in order to identify what the transport needs of women are, the common areas where women experience interchange difficulties, how effective the current system is in meeting the needs of women, personal safety and security issues, effectiveness of transport policies in addressing womens concerns and accessibility of transport for women, children, the elderly and people with disabilities.
  In addition, given the large number of children under 18 years who use PMVs, the transport authorities need to consider mandatory police character clearance for buses drivers and their crew and to wear color coded ID cards similar to the Blue Card system in Australia to ensure the safety and welfare of children are protected.
  
  So far, of the millions of kina invested in transportation nothing has been directed at improving the safety concerns of women, children, the elderly and disabled. Transport authorities need to address this problem by making transport policies more responsive to women and childrens needs and creating a safe and conducive environment for them to contribute to equitable and sustainable urban development.