Improving perceived safety in public transportation through design

Abstract

Planning and design decisions are crucial for creating safer and sustainable public transportation alternatives. People who live in cities isolate themselves from facilities of the city because of safety and security issues, which reduce their quality of life. Security issues also create a barrier to a participation in the public life and reduce the liveability of the city. This paper uses specific data derived from the responses to a public transportation survey on the subway in addition to the systematic observations. The study includes 351 respondents and analyses their transportation-related habits and feelings of insecurity through the whole journey in Izmir subway. In this respect, this particular study concludes by creating a spatial model, which includes environment/product/management issues for investigating the importance of safety through public transportation and also for developing sustainable solutions.