Key Factors for Enhancing Women's Safety in Public Transportation Stations: A Case Study of Shiraz Metro System

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

• Ali Soltani ¹
• Ali Reza Sadeghi ²
• Zahra Abbaspour ³
• Aslan Peyrovedin ⁴

¹ Professor, Department of Urban Planning and Design, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Fars, Iran. Email: [e-mail]

² Associate Professor Department of Urban Planning and Design, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Fars, Iran.

³ Master of Urban Planning, Department of Urban Planning and Design, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Fars, Iran. Email: [e-mail]

⁴ Master of Urban Planning, Department of Urban Planning and Design, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Fars, Iran. Email:

https://doi.org/10.22067/cauds.2025.93838.1017

Abstract

Public transportation systems play a vital role in urban mobility and require comprehensive planning to improve performance and enhance safety. Safety is one of the most critical aspects of public transit, given the large number of daily users. While ensuring safety is essential for all members of society, women often face a higher risk of violence and thus require special attention. In Iran, limited research has addressed women’s safety in public transportation systems. Therefore, this study aims to investigate women’s safety in the public transit network of Shiraz, with a focus on the metro system, which has been operational since 2014. To assess safety along Line 1 of the Shiraz Metro, key factors influencing women’s perception of safety were identified through a review of previous studies and theoretical foundations. Based on these findings, a structured questionnaire was developed and distributed among 310 female passengers across nine metro stations: Ehsan, Mirza-ye Shirazi, Shahed, Shahid Avini, Namazi, Zandieh, Valiasr, Fazilat, and Shahid Dastgheib. The collected data were analyzed using linear regression with the stepwise method in SPSS. The results revealed four significant factors influencing women’s perceived safety: the external environment of the stations, the occurrence of crime, theft, and sexual harassment, the emptiness or low occupancy of stations, and the availability of women-only train cars.

Keywords

• Public Transportation
• Safety
• Metro
• Women
• Shiraz

©2025 The author(s). This is an open access article distributed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)

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