A tough ride to work

CHENNAI: After every workday, Geetha J dreads the commute back home. She not only has to wait for nearly half an hour to get a bus, but also has a 10-minute walk once she gets down at her stop at 10.30pm.
Many women who work salespersons or in the IT industry are finding it hard to get home after a long working day as there is not enough public transport, especially buses, at night.
"I work from 11.30am to 9pm as a salesgirl in a supermarket in Kotturpuram. I get a bus to West Saidapet, where I live, only around 10.15pm," says Geetha, 18. The problems begin with getting to the bus stop from the shop. "Most of the time, the bus stop is deserted and I have to wait for at least half an hour before I get a bus."
The walk back home is even worse, she says. "A couple of times, I had to run from men on bikes who were propositioning," says Geetha, her face clouding.
Activists say many women are sexually harassed on the way to work. "Our field workers reported incidents of women being harassed by share auto drivers when they were on their way to work early in the morning," says E Vijayalakshmi, co-ordinator, Manushi Domestic Workers Union and Centre for Women's Development and Research.
Two women, who work in the housekeeping section of an IT company in Perungudi, raised the alarm when the driver misbehaved with them after other passengers got off. "They had to get out of the vehicle in the middle of the road and run. Unlike higher-level employees in the IT companies, these women have to travel to and from work on their own and have to fend for themselves," says Vijayalakshmi.
Even those who are ferried back and forth by company vehicles would prefer to use public transport, if it was available. "We provide night shuttles to those who work late as there are no buses, and train stations are lonely and unsafe," says G Sudha, senior manager with an IT firm on OMR.
Sudha says there would be takers if Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) introduced more night services. "Apart from the IT and BPO companies, there are many manufacturing units on OMR, Mahindra World City and near Oragadam. Buses are safest for women working in these companies," she says.
MTC runs more than 45 services between 10.30pm and 5am, while the suburban trains operate till midnight and start again at 4am. "But the number of bus services comes down after 9pm," KP Subramanian, urban transportation expert. The main problem is bunching of services, he says. "I find it difficult to find buses after my teaching assignments at Anna University. MTC should introduce more night services or extend services till 10.30pm. With more people travelling on work, the corporation will be able to generate more revenue," he says.
Senior MTC officials say that most night services lack patronage. "We are ready to operate special services if companies put in requests for ferrying a fixed number of people to a specific location," says an official.