CTU: 5,000 women apply for 72 posts for conductors

It is for the first time that CTU has reserved 33 per cent of the posts for women. Applications for the same were invited and the response has overwhelmed the department. The selection test is likely to be held this month.

Class XII passout can apply for the job. However,lure for government jobs is such that applications have been received from graduates and postgraduates as well. With this move,CTU would be the only transport authority in the region to have women conductors. Once recruited,they would be trained and thereafter given licences.

Director Transport TPS Phoolka said,“The response that we got for the post is overwhelming. A total of 5,000 women have applied for the post and we are at present scrutinising the applications. Safety of the women conductors would be ensured. We would work out the finer details such as their duty hour and routes soon.”

Meanwhile,the transport departments of Punjab and Haryana had few years back recruited women conductors but instead of being deployed on buses,they were shifted to office work.

President of CTU Workers’ Union Bhupinder Singh said the department should ensure that the women are being deployed in buses otherwise,the shortage of conductors would continue. “Being a conductor involves long duty hours and traveling on different routes at odd times. They shouldn’t be shifted to offices or deployed at bus stands as the entire purpose of the recruitment would be defeated then.”

CTU has been shifting its long route buses on the local routes in a phased manner. It has been proposed that the focus of the transport department would be on the Tricity in order to improve the public transport facilities so that people use less of private vehicles. In such a scenario,the women conductors would essentially be deployed on buses that ply in the Tricity.