New Delhi: As more instances of unruly behaviour on airplanes and other public transport come to light, a survey found that 37 per cent travellers in India have experienced or observed harassment, scuffles or abuse while taking flights, trains and buses in the last three years.
A report by LocalCircles – a community-based social media platform – surveyed over 10,000 people, of which 56 per cent denied experiencing or observing such incidents, while 10 per cent admitted to having witnessed or suffered unruly behaviour 4-6 times during the same timeframe. For 16 per cent, it was 2-3 times, while 11 per cent faced such situations once.
The survey also sought to find out whether “creating awareness about unacceptable and acceptable behaviour on public transportation will improve the situation.” Of the 10,683 respondents to this question, 69 per cent expressed optimism toward such a step.
The survey data showed 46 per cent of respondents are “definitely” sure about this course of action, while 23 per cent feel it “might have some positive impact.” Among the remaining respondents, 11 per cent expressed no hope in the awareness campaigns or strict punishment; while 16 per cent feel that such a step will work only if “strict punishment or penalty” is enforced, 4 per cent of the respondents gave no clear response.
The report concluded that the 37 per cent response rate on unruly behaviour on public transportation in the last three years indicated that these instances are fairly common and that the majority of them go unreported.
Survey demographics
The nationwide survey by LocalCircles received over 20,000 responses from 321 districts of India. In the survey, 66 per cent of respondents were men, while 34 per cent were women. According to the survey, 47 per cent respondents were from Tier 1 cities, 34 per cent were from Tier 2, and 19 per cent were from Tier 3, 4, and rural districts.
It outlined that for every case of misbehaviour on public transport that gets reported, there are likely hundreds of cases that aren’t getting reported, especially in Tier 2 towns and beyond.
Following up on complaints of several harassed people, LocalCircles conducted the survey, where the focal point was to find out “how many times has it happened in the last three years that one experienced or observed a scuffle, harassment, or abuse in flights, trains, bus, or other public transport?”
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