Women Pay More To Get Around NYC Without Getting Killed: Study

NEW YORK — From manspreading to physical violence, the New York City subway can be a hostile place for women — and that hostility comes with a cost, according to a new report.

New York University's Rudin Center for Transportation surveyed more than 500 people in September and October to evaluate women's experiences getting around the city. Researchers sought to determine whether the city's transportation system bears a "Pink Tax," meaning it costs more for women than men, according to the report.

Nearly a third — 29 percent — of the female respondents said they don't take public transit at night because of a "perceived safety threat," compared with just 8 percent of male respondents.

Using other modes of transportation for late-night trips adds to the price women pay to safely get around the city, with the median extra cost landing at $26 to $50, the survey found. The extra cost is non-existent for men.

One recent incident in Brooklyn illustrated the dangers women seek to avoid. A 57-year-old woman was randomly stabbed and called a "black b----" at the Church Avenue Q station last week, leaving her to walk home with a punctured lung.

Getting around also costs more for caregivers, some of whom struggle to navigate the subway with children, the survey found. They bear a median extra cost of $26 to $50 a month themselves — meaning women who are caregivers can spend up to $100 more each month, according to the survey.

There's also a big disparity in how frequently men and women are harassed on the transit system, the survey found. Some 75 percent of female respondents — but just 47 percent of male respondents — said they had experienced harassment or theft on public transportation.

Nearly nine of every 10 respondents who experienced harassment said they didn't report what happened, with several expressing "that reporting the incident would have no effect," the report says.

The survey collected 547 complete responses. About 52 percent of the respondents were female, 47.5 were male and 0.4 percent were of another gender. More than three quarters of them were white and more than half said they had completed graduate school.

(Lead image: Photo by David Allen/Patch)