Gender and age differences in metropolitan car use. Recent gender gap trends in private transport

Urban mobility is currently undergoing significant changes in cities worldwide, as gendered mobilities are converging and automobility is on a downward trend among younger cohorts. The aim of this study was to examine the dynamics of gendered mobilities over generations and across three different urban contexts in the Barcelona Metropolitan Region (northeast Spain), in an effort to understand whether the mobility gender gap is closing and whether young adults have lowered their private transport levels. Generalized linear models were built to analyze travel survey data from the Working Day Mobility Survey (EMEF) to comprehend mobility changes between 2008 and 2018. The study identified a generational countertrend among new generations of young adults, who reported more sustainable mobility practices than their predecessors. Furthermore, results show a general trend towards gender convergence of travel behavior on the outskirts of the Barcelona Metropolitan Region, but also a tendency towards gender divergence in the core area of Barcelona City. Since the mobility gender gap is closer to convergence in those areas where private transport use is more widespread, future efforts towards achieving climate objectives should aim at decoupling such gender convergence from car-dependent built environments.