Rows and rows of Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation’s (KSRTC) air-conditioned buses wait for regular maintenance and other checks as a group of men and women get to work to keep them in top shape.
“There are 12 women mechanics in this depot alone,” said Renuka proudly, pointing to her colleague Ashwini. Y, who, like her, has nine years of experience. Another colleague, Deepa Dinesh, has been on the job for 17 years and “even drives the bus inside the depot,” they said.
Women may have reached the top in many fields, but the driver’s seat in State-run buses are still a male domain. Of the over 13,000 people recruited as driver/conductors, only 23 are women. Of them, none has taken the wheel. The numbers among mechanical staff, on the other hand, are slightly more encouraging: there around 828 women mechanical staff against close to 4,000 male staff.
KSRTC officials said though all staff members undergo the same rigorous training, women who qualify to become driver/conductors often back out citing the burden of responsibility of 60 passengers in their hands. But some women who have been recruited to the post said they have not been assigned work on the roads.
Gowri (name changed), for instance, has been driving inside the depot for months. “I was driving in the driving school as well. I know the traffic is bad, but I am interested in driving on the road as well. If I am asked to do it, I will,” she said.
But some other women said they opted out of it. Ameena Nadaf (30), a resident of Tumakuru, said she was also driving inside the depot, but chose to stick to doing a conductor’s job after delivering a child.
KSRTC officials, on the other hand, said the corporation was willing to rope in more women for the post. “Driving is in fact easier now as there is power steering. In the Volvo, a lot of it is automated. But the traffic has increased and a lot of them say they are not confident to drive,” said an official.
Prema has been sitting pretty for 10 years
The story is the same in the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), but for one shining star. Of the roughly 25,000 driver/conductors hired for the 6,700-strong fleet, there is all but one woman among them. Prema Ramappa Nadabatti, who is on the Kempegowda Bus Station-Koramangala route, has been driving for 10 years. Her male colleagues, now used to the beeline of media personnel waiting to interview her every International Women’s Day, also hailed her driving skills.
“My mother inspired me to get a job. Traffic has definitely got worse over the years. The secret is to keep calm while driving,” she said.
