PATNA: The ‘ladies special’ buses introduced as part of the 70-strong fleet of new city buses on Sunday by the chief minister Nitish Kumar, are really special, for they are meant not only for women but have women conductors as well.
In all, eight ‘ladies special’ buses have as many as 16 young women conductors, working in two shifts of eight hours – from 5.30am to 1.30pm and 1.30pm to 9.30pm.
“We will soon exceed the number of women conductors to 30, as we would be running a total of 12 ‘ladies special’ buses,” said Praveen Kumar Paul, senior manager, Eden Transport. The government has started city bus services in PPP mode with Eden Transport. The job of running the bus services has been outsourced to Eden Transport.
These bus conductors have received kudos from their families for breaking the myth that running buses is a male preserve.
“I have joined this job to be economically independent,” said 21-year-old Moni Praveen who is a matriculate, the minimum educational requirement for this job. She stays with her parents. Her father owns a pan shop. “I came to know about the job through a newspaper. After interview, I got the job,” Moni said.
“My parents are proud that I am working as a woman bus conductor. Initially, I was confused whether to join this job or not. But then, my parents gave their support to me to join the job,” she said.
Soni Siddiqui, 21, who has passed Inter from J D Women’s College, is proud that now she can support her family financially. “My family feels that the job is a decent one and I am safe.”
“From the security point of view, an emergency alarm button has been provided in the buses, and with CCTVs installed in them, the control room keeps an eye all the time,” she added. Besides, the women bus conductors have received special training for crisis management. “Those who work in the second shift get the facility of being dropped at home,” Soni said.
Aarju Praveen, a 23-year-old married bus conductor who stays with her in-laws said, “We get a fixed monthly salary of Rs 5,000, Rs 3,000 per month for refreshments and four per cent commission on every ticket.”
She gets home by 2pm. Till then her mother-in-law takes care of her three-year-old son. “For a better future of my son, I have to manage,” Aarju said. “When passengers appreciate our work by saying that because of us they feel secure, I get immense job satisfaction.”
Another bus conductor, Priya Bhushan, 26, had been working as a field worker in a private mobile company for the last seven years. “A government job gives the feeling of a more secure future. This job is perfect for me, as by the time my son reaches home I too get free.”
“In the last two days, we have received very positive responses from our passengers. I feel like we our running our own buses,” Priya said.