A few years ago, I had a friend visiting me from out of state. She had missed the train she wanted to take back to New Jersey, so we hung out a bit and had a few drinks. When it was time for her to leave and head home, she hopped aboard an N train in New York, headed for Penn Station. She fell asleep on the train. A little over an hour later, she called me, panicking slightly, after she woke up in Coney Island, the southern tip of Brooklyn. She missed the Penn Station stop by a long shot. My friend was nervous, but I told her to get on a train heading uptown into Manhattan, and to get off at 34th, Penn Station. She asked if I could stay on the line.
A man had been standing close to her, seemingly following her. When she got on the train, he followed her into the car. He was talking to her, asking questions, ignoring the fact that she didn’t want to talk to him. This lasted for a few stops, including some that were underground, and she wasn’t able to talk to me anymore. Those moments between messages were scary for both of us. Fortunately, some other people got on, and a guy saw how uncomfortable this man was making her. He helped her get off at Penn Station and get back home, even as the creep followed them around outside of the train.
My friend was lucky to have help. Most women don’t. Most of us have a story like this.
The Problem
I’ve been followed at night, cat called trying to enter my building, and leered at by creeps on the train. So, at night, I often avoid the train. Turns out, I’m not alone.
For a New Yorker, this makes getting around extremely difficult. In the end, we call a Lyft, Uber, or some other transport. Lyft and Uber have the benefit of vetted drivers. It’s also less difficult to tell them where you’re going than it is in a cab. Plus, you can share your ride with someone else, helping to cut the cost significantly. NYC cabs haven’t come close to the safety and ease of transport of Lyft or Uber. Regardless, even a cab costs far more than the $2.75 you’d pay for the train.
My guy friends don’t experience this. They didn’t understand why I take a Lyft home when I could walk for just 10-15 minutes and take the train. Turns out, guys don’t have to worry about the kind of sexual harassment, assault, and stalking that women experience. As a result, they can rely on cheap transportation any time of day. Women, on the other hand, are less safe using public transportation after dark.
The Study
The study gathered the results of a survey of over 500 people living in the New York City area. The report was put together by the NYU Rudin Center for Transportation. They found that, on average, women spend between $26 and $50 more per month than men for safety reasons. If those women are caretakers—and 75% of caretakers are women—the total can double, up to $100 per month.
This is because women are more likely to make decisions for their safety. 75% of women have experienced harassment or theft while using public transportation, compared to 47% of male respondents. 54% of female respondents reported concern over harassment while using public transportation in New York, while only 20% of men shared that concern. For late night travel, 42% of people felt safest using for-hire cars, such as a Lyft or Uber, while only 15% trusted public transport, like New York’s subway or buses.
Basically put, not only do products cost, on average 7% more if they’re made for women, the classic definition of the “Pink Tax,” but due to a society that views women’s issues as lesser, and women as sex objects, women can spend up to $100 more for transport every month. Considering a monthly subway and bus MetroCard is only $121/month, women could be cheated out of 22%-83% of their ticket price.
The Solution?
The solutions are painfully easy to see. Police and MTA officials need to take complaints regarding the safety of their riders more seriously. A shocking 88% of people who reported harassment never reported it because they correctly assumed the MTA or NYPD officials would do nothing. Those who did report found this to be true.
Anecdotally, I once saw a man smoking crack just 10 feet from an MTA official. The man enjoying his crack was blocking access to a ticket machine. I looked at the man smoking crack, and looked back to the official before cocking my head. He shrugged and said “What do you want me to do?”
The NYPD should also increase their presence on trains and in stations. Plainclothes officers could ride trains throughout the day, arresting people breaking the law. It would put an end to the people who still get away with smoking on trains, as well as make sexual harassers think twice.
People are often surprised to find out that there are no cameras on trains. Though the cost of putting cameras in these train cars would be minimal, it’s just one of many improvements the MTA refuses to do for public safety.
Trains also run unreliably in the city. Because of this, someone could be stuck on a dimly lit, rarely populated platform late at night, waiting for a train that’s 20 minutes late. That’s time when people are vulnerable and, because most stations are not patrolled in any way, it’s a time when criminals can get away with anything.
The MTA needs more people in leadership positions who are women and frequent users of public transportation. That is currently not the case.
New York has become a far safer city. But for women, it’s still not quite safe enough. Small changes could alleviate the burden placed on women in this city, improving public safety, employment opportunities, and reducing our monthly costs to something closer to men’s. A little equality, is that so much to ask for?
Sources:
- Sarah M. Kaufman, Christopher F. Pokack, and Gloria A. Campbell, “The Pink Tax on Transportation: Women’s Challenges in Mobility,” NYU.
- Kristen Lee, Jalopnik
- Noah Manskar, Patch