By Shawn Sebastian
New Delhi/October 30
Mamta S, a 40-year-old E-bus driver prepares for her first trip of the day at the Rajgarh E-Bus Depot in New Delhi.
The day starts early for Mamta S, a 40-year-old woman living in the suburbs of New Delhi. After finishing the household chores including getting her children ready for school, she must now step out of home for a long day at work. As Mamta wears a black overcoat over her light blue uniform, a sense of pride and responsibility envelops her. “I never thought my hands would one day be carrying the responsibility of hundreds of passengers”, she says. Mamta’s words sit well with her work as she is one among the 92 woman electric bus drivers employed by the Delhi Transport Corporation-a landmark initiative aimed at gender inclusive sustainable public transport in India’s national capital city.
At Rajghat Electric Bus Depot in Delhi, Mamta meets Tripti Arya, a woman rider assistant with over two years of experience working at the Delhi Transport Corporation’s electric buses. Ms Arya is one among the 1,100 woman rider assistants employed by DTC.
Driver Mamta S and Rider Assistant ‘Tripri Arya’ on a candid moment as they prepare to start the first trip of the day at Rajgarh E-Bus Depot, New Delhi
As the bus leaves the depot into the busy streets of New Delhi and greets commuters on a routine work day, passengers who trickle in for their daily commute are in for a surprise to see an all woman crew at the helm of affairs. However for both Mamta and Ms. Arya, it is business as usual as they go about their duty with commitment and diligence.
“Number of female staff is increasing in DTC buses. It is a new beginning that is altering people’s perspective”, says Ms Arya referring to the male-dominated Delhi’s public transport sector that is now accommodating more and more women staff in an effort to make the travel comfortable and safe for women passengers.
Delhi’s bus network, with over 600 routes and a fleet 7,849 buses serves 2.5 million passengers daily, with roughly 50% being women. Delhi, under the Grand Challenge supported by the FAME scheme of Government of India has approved 1,500 e-buses.
The tender encourages the private sector to ensure that 25% of drivers, depot, and factory staff are women. To support this, the height requirement for drivers has been lowered to 153cm, and the required HMV driving experience reduced to one-month. Women staff also receive free training and certification from government-funded institutes.
E-Buses being charged after their morning at the Rajghat E-Bus Depot, New Delhi
The blue coloured, pollution-free electric buses that now plies across Delhi is a landmark shift from the fume-emitting diesel buses that used to contribute much to the capital city’s poor air quality index and noise pollution.
As driver Mamta cruises through a route that passes by Rajghat where Mahatma Gandhi is laid to rest, she knows she is part of a cohort of woman drivers who have made the impossible possible.
“People thought that women can’t drive a bus,” Mamta says, adding that seeing her on the driving seat of a bus, some people used to mock her saying she should rather be making rotis at home. However such scorns hardly affect her dedicated service as she puts up a confidant show in a traditionally male-dominated occupation.
The rolling out of more electric buses and removal of height restriction for potential driver applicants made it easier for many women like Mamta to grab the opportunity to become electric bus drivers in the streets of Delhi. The convenience of driving a modern electric bus continues to draw many women to the occupation.
“Driving has become very easy now. Sometimes I wonder If I am driving a bus or a car,” she says, pointing out the simplicity in driving an electric bus.
Meanwhile as Ms. Arya hands out tickets to the passengers, she feels that women feel more comfortable and safer to be driven by an all women crew.
Shalini S, a 26-year-old passenger receives a ticket from Ride Assistant ‘Tripti Arya’.
“They know that we won’t let anything bad happen to them,” Arya says adding that safety features such as 24*7 CCTV cameras, panic button and driver walkie-talkie makes the ride safe and secure for passengers, especially women who take night rides.
Shalini S, a 26 year-old Delhi resident who takes an electric bus for commuting to office says that she can now see more buses on the road. She uses ‘One Delhi’ App for bus timing and real-time tracking.
“E-bus made traveling easier for working women like me,” Shalini says, adding that earlier many women used to be scared to travel by bus, especially at night.
“New safety features give us confidence and female staff makes us feel even more safer”, Shalini affirms, wishing that more E-buses ply on Delhi’s roads.
As the women crew finish their eight hour duty and return home, they leave with the firm belief that their employment is rewarding in multiple ways. Both as a personal empowerment story as well as a contribution to make Delhi’s public transport more accessible to women who remain 50% of the total passenger numbers.
Tripti Arya, the Ride Assistant, carrying the bag with passenger tickets and trip sheet at the Rajgarh E-Bus Depot, New Delhi
Mamta S, a 40-year-old E-bus driver prepares for
a trip at the Rajgarh E-Bus Depot in New Delhi.
“Many young women are inspired to see women staff as drivers and ride assistants,’” says Arya, adding that it also serves as a motivation for them to break into traditional gendered work spaces.
The FAME Scheme initiative supports the city’s target of 80% electric buses by 2025, driving both gender inclusion and sustainability in public transport.