This paper reports on part of a study funded by the U.S. Department of Labor to evaluate whether individual transportation demand management (TDM) measures differentially affect salaried men and women in various household situations. Working women with children are the least able to make drastic changes in their daily activities but may be the most affected by employer sanctions and financial penalties. The study found that in Tucson, Arizona, women are (a) substantially more dependent on he private car driven alone than are comparable men, (b) far less likely to have switched to alternative modes, and (c) more likely to have chosen different alternative modes when they did switch. Moreover, there were differences between the sexes in travel time and distance to work, none of which could be explained by income or occupation. When workers were asked how effective various TDM strategies would be in increasing their use of alternative modes, women were more likely to see all potential strategies in a favorable light. Moreover, women were more responsive to strategies that addressed their domestic responsibilities (for example, their need to transport children or respond to family emergencies). Ultimately, while being more favorably disposed to TDM measures, women were less likely to give up driving alone because travel modes that are slower and less flexible than the private car may severely affect their working and family lives. These findings show the need to identify the equity consequences of specific TDM requirements, to target appropriate individual measures to working women, and to develop ways to offset the negative impacts on working mothers.

A study was funded by the U.S. Department of Labor to analyze the differential impact of mandatory trip reduction programs on employed men and women in different family situations. Travel demand management (TDM) programs can be expected to have a direct impact on working women with young children, who compose the largest component of the growth in the use of the car in the last two decades. The study found that in Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, men and women had different travel patterns, even when controlling for marital status and the presence of children of various ages, as well as income and occupation. Having children had far more impact on working mothers than on comparable working fathers. Women with children were more likely to drive to work at all income levels than were comparable men or other women. The younger their children and the more children they had, the more likely women were to drive to work alone. Conversely, the more and the younger their children, the less likely working women were to use alternate modes. The findings indicate how dependent working mothers are on the car to balance their domestic and child care obligations and the need to identify the equity consequences of specific TDM requirements, to develop sets of TDM measures that respond to the time and cost constraints of working women, and to develop ways to offset the negative impacts on working mothers.