Background:
Sustainable Development Goal Target 11.2 states that by 2030 countries should provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all. Transportation inequities have serious implications for public health, and thus transport policy becomes an important social determinant of health. The social circumstances affecting under-served populations are influenced by societal constructs and complex hierarchies, including policy and implementation of transportation systems.

Objective:
To explore how social equity considerations can be more effectively incorporated and operationalised in transportation planning.

Methods:
Guided by intersectional lens and domains of PROGRESS- Plus, policy at the national and subnational level (Delhi) were analysed. Further in-depth interviews were conducted for 30 participants and were anchored for non-binary gender participants, differently-abled people, and adolescents in an urban setting.

Findings:
Policy documents were found to stigmatise groups based on disability and gender. The policymaking process was found to be exclusionary and ’expert-driven. Voices of vulnerable groups and civil society were left out of the policymaking process. Policies did not detail what evidence was relied upon. The challenges faced by “vulnerable groups” ranged from accessibility, affordability, availability and quality/safety. Softer infrastructure- such as attitudes of service providers were identified as a major limitation to an equitable access of transportation.

Conclusion:
Adopting an intersectional lens for understanding transport experiences and analysing policies allows for a deeper understanding of the impact of multi-level interacting social locations and structures of domination that shape human experience