A New 'Women-Only' Bus Service In Maharashtra Could Change Transport For The Better

A New 'Women-Only' Bus Service In Maharashtra Could Change Transport For The Better
Zee News

Being groped in buses, met with lewd stares and comments have troubled women commuters for years now. A woman who has to constantly watch her back and think twice before stepping on a public commute in the evenings, post work, reflects how unsafe women really feel in urban cities.It seems certain men are unable to learn to behave themselves in mixed-gender company, so the Maharashtra state government has taken the task into their own hands to making commuting a safe experience for women. The government, in a scheme called Tejaswini buses, has announced 300 women-only buses in major cities like Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli, and Nagpur, that will hit the roads in 2017.Previously, several such schemes have been announced, but the response from women commuters has been lukewarm, turning the special women-only buses into complete loss making ventures. As per a report in Times Of India, Prashant Jagtap, one of the directors of the PMPML board in Pune, admitted that the bus service is facing losses,“We know that the existing service is incurring losses, but looking at the security concerns among women commuters, we thought of introducing 100 new buses only for them. This time, however, we are taking necessary precautions to ensure that the special buses do not run throughout the day. We will run these buses only on busy routes and during peak hours in order to address the travel woes of women commuters.”As more and more women step out in urban areas, creating a conducive environment for them to work, travel and feel confident has become an imperative need.

All women buses the way ahead for safer commute for women in Maharashtra Image courtesy: Zee News

These buses will be run through the city service operations by the civic body or any other operator. An estimated cost of Rs 90 crore is expected for purchasing 300 buses. The cabinet has sanctioned Rs 50 crore for the year 2016-17 as the cabinet collectively wanted to move towards combating problems and harassment faced by women in public spaces. But what makes these buses safe, apart from having women only commuters? As put forth by the Urban Development Ministry’s proposal, the special features of the bus include specific timings when the buses will ply, between 7am-11am and 5pm-9pm, which is the peak travel time for working women. The bus service will also give preference to women drivers and conductors, and will be equipped with CCTV and public address systems. The buses will be marked with ‘Tejasvini’ written on them to be spotted at stops around the city.For those who have experienced travelling in women-only modes of transport would know it is relatively safer and usually a pleasant experience; barring of course the push and shove at peak hours. This scheme continues to pique our interest, only time will tell whether it stays true to its word and changes the transport scene around cities in Maharashtra for good.

Feature Image Courtesy: Zee News

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