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Empowering Women In Transport Sector: India Gets Its First All Women Bus Depot In Delhi

Empowering Women In Transport Sector

'Ladkiyon ko gaadi chalani nehi aati', 'Are you sure you can drive?', 'Should I get life insurance?', 'Why is this car so slow? A woman must be driving it', 'Please stay focussed on the road. 'I don't want to die in this car', 'Is it a woman driver? Let us check her out', 'What are you driving? A car or a bullock cart?', 'Should I drive it instead?'

If you are a woman driver, especially in India, there is no way you could have escaped stereotypical comments thrown at you randomly by strangers from a place of care, masked as jokes at some point in your life. Seeing a woman in the driver's seat raises eyebrows even today, but for slowing down a bit, you may get honking from the vehicle behind you.

Not only women are targeted by erring male drivers, but they are also being subjected to sexism on roads as well. And if a man takes a wrong turn, overspends, and there is an accident, they will immediately blame the woman despite no fault of their own. Forget about strangers, if you are at home and are a professional driver, chances are that your job will be hidden from friends or relatives because it is considered a threat to the long-established idea of masculinity and patriarchy.

Therefore, being a woman or a female's driving experience is enough to reflect their status in society.

According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH) report, new conductors' licenses issued during the year (2018-2019) for males is 108,932 and for females is 7,961 in India. Also, out of 749,096 people who are professional drivers ad are authorised to drive public service vehicles, only 4136 are females and the rest 744,960 are males.

Bringing More Women To Driver's Seat In India

Recently, Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot announced that Delhi will get an all-women bus depot soon. From operational to managerial functions, everything will be managed by female workers and it will start once 100 female drivers are hired.

Currently, 34 women drivers have been hired by Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) for its buses, mentioned the government in a statement. On 19 January 2023, 13 new female drivers were given the letter of appointment for the second batch of drivers in DTC.
Last year in April 2022, Mission Parivartan was started by the transport department with an initiative to train women to obtain heavy motor vehicle licences. So far, 123 women have completed their training and the fourth batch will be trained next, said Gahlot, mentioned in a TOI report.


So, Are Men Better Drivers Than Women?

Even today, the transport sector is dominated by males and when it comes to females, still it is regarded as 'no place for women' in many countries.

Well, men can eat their word if they believe that they are better drivers than women because research says otherwise.

According to data from Netstar, women are better drivers than men. The data mentions that registered vehicle impacts (e.g. hitting potholes, kerbs, or other vehicles) by women customers represented 1.3% of the total number of Netstar's female customer base during the period measured, compared to 1.4% for men. Regarding harsh braking, registered incidents represent 16.9% of female drivers and 22.8% of males. The numbers for harsh acceleration are 4.5% for women and 10% for men. For harsh cornering, the proportions are 13.2% (women) vs 18.8% (men).

Also, a 2014 survey in UAE has revealed that though rash driving was on the rise, it was found that 38% of cases involve males as opposed to the 27% of collisions involving women drivers.

Can More Female Participation In Public Transport Make Public Spaces Safer For Females?

Be it an urban or rural setting, for girls and women, sexual harassment or violence in public spaces is an everyday occurrence. It can not happen in streets but also in workplaces, transportation, public toilets, schools, parks and food and water distribution sites, mentions the UN website.

This becomes a major obstacle when it comes to women's freedom of movement, limits their access to essential services and also impacts their overall well-being.

As per data from a report by Breakthrough India, a women rights organisation, 55.3 per cent have observed the discomfort of the woman/girl facing violence, and almost as many have intervened in an incident of violence against women in a public space.

Therefore, more participation by women in the transport sector will make Delhi's roads safer and passenger-friendly mentions Gahlot to TOI.

In 2022, the Delhi government has reduced the experience criterion to one month and the minimum height criterion for women from 159 cm to 153 cm. Further, the transport department has also decided to bear 50% of the training cost. At in-house centres, Burari, Loni and Sarai Kale Khan, which have been set up by the Delhi government, the training is being conducted, mentioned in the same report.

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