Consideration of Gender and Diversity Aspects in the Design of Interiors of Rail Vehicles

It is the aim of transport policy to transfer a very high proportion of road transport to sustainable public transport. To generate sufficient demand for public transport, it is essential to increase its attractiveness in all areas. Increasing the attractiveness on the one hand leads to a strong use of the system, while also to all those who are already users of public transport it leads to significant increases in comfort and thus in sustainable satisfaction. In public transport, particularly in rail, there are a number of factors that have influence on the comfort for the passengers, for example acoustics, visuals or odour in the vehicle. Othenvise requirements while sitting or standing in the vehicle, separation from other travelers, sense of security, temperature sensitivity and many more. One of the most important factor is the stay in the vehicle. Therefore the aim must be to develop vehicles where as many passengers as possible feel comfortable. With regard to the above factors, there are particular gender differences that are manifested mainly in different perceptions between women and men. In order to develop vehicles that provide a noticeable gain in comfort for all travelers the differentiated perception must be addressed which was intensively done in a research project. In applied scenarios the gender differences were translated so that both gender can be optimally addressed. The comfort criteria, the expectations and the current problem areas from the gender perspective were deeply analyzed. Based on that measures were developed on the different requirements from the perspective of women's and men's needs. The aim of the project was to develop a set of requirements for future vehicles which promise a gain in comfort for women and men. The paper will demonstrate the results and the main findings of the project and will show concrete suggestions for the design of the interior of rail vehicles in public transport.