Women bus drivers set to take wheel for Uttar Pradesh

GHAZIABAD: For Priyanka Kumari (31), applying for the job of a UP Roadways bus driver was a natural choice. She had driven trucks for four years, often behind the wheel in journeys as far as Mumbai and Pune while working for a Delhi-based private operator.

Ved Kumari's story is the reverse. The 34-year-old homemaker had to be convinced by her husband, a conductor at the UP State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC), to put her name for the job.

She relented after weeks.

Their lives crossed paths at a training centre in Kanpur, where the two women and 28 others chosen underwent a 17-month training programme on how to drive buses under a state government initiative, the recruitment for which began in 2020.

All of them have now been posted to UPSRTC depots - Priyanka went to Kaushambi and Ved to Loni. They will be among the first batch of women to drive buses for the UP Roadways.

Similar to how they got there, the two women have different reasons for steering their lives in this direction.

Belonging to Bhagalpur in Bihar, Priyanka had to face a severe financial crisis after her husband, a factory guard in Delhi, died of a kidney ailment. She had to run her house and fund her two sons' education.

"I decided to send my sons - Anand (12) and Nipun (10) - back to my hometown in Bhagalpur for studies. I stayed back with my father, who is also a guard, at a rented accommodation in Delhi's Shalimar Bagh and started looking for odd jobs," she told TOI on Friday.

Her calling came in 2017, when she met Subhash Yadav, a truck driver with a private operator who encouraged her to take up the job.

"Even though I was reluctant at first, Subhash egged me on. He trained me and soon, I learned how to drive a truck, much to the astonishment of many," she said.

From there on, Priyanka didn't look back.

"I was given short distance routes at first, and these did wonders to my confidence. And then one day, just like that, I got a long trip. I have now driven up to Mumbai and Pune too," she said.

Though she earned around Rs 25,000-30,000 a month, Priyanka applied to UPSRTC because of "the lure of a government job".

"I am only paid Rs 6,000 right now, but I'm expecting a permanent appointment soon," she added.

Ved Kumari, who is from Bulandshahr in UP, was encouraged by her husband, Mukesh Kumar, to take up this opportunity.

She was sceptical, not because she thought it was an arduous task - she was used to her husband, a conductor, gone for long periods of time - but because she had no experience in driving. "It took some coaxing to convince me to apply, but I did, and here I am," Ved, also a mother of two, said.

UPSRTC officials told TOI on Friday that the state government had decided to roll out all-women 'pink buses' a few years ago, but there were no female bus drivers at that time. That's when the recruitment drive began and the 30 candidates, including Priyanka and Ved, were chosen for the training.

"They underwent training in Kanpur before they were deployed in depots. As of now, they have not been given long distance assignments, and their work is limited to parking and moving buses at the depots. But they are likely to get independent assignments on pink buses soon," said RK Singh, regional manager at UPSRTC.

Ghaziabad has a fleet of 18 'pink buses' that run on routes like Haridwar, Gorakhpur and Hardoi.

Like everything else about their stories, Priyanka and Ved's responses to what they consider to be their challenges vary too.

"Driving trucks or buses is a male-dominated sector. But I honestly didn't think of it as that because I was getting good money for it. That doesn't mean it's an easy task for women. I never drove long distances through the night for fear of my safety. I'd normally ask other drivers about highway motels that were safe, and most of the facilities were cooperative... In fact, many times, I got preferential treatment," she said, letting out a chuckle.

For Ved, driving is a new experience. What she found most difficult was to leave her children behind when she went to Kanpur for the 17 month-training.

"My daughter, Bhavika, was just over a year old, and my son, Surya, was 9 at the time," she said.

Then, there were also talks in the neighbourhood.

"I was ridiculed by many. But luckily, my husband and my family stood behind me the whole time," Ved said. "I am aware of the challenges that women drivers face. But some day, someone had to make a start. Our batch of 30 is that beginning."



Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays, public holidays, and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.