From DU graduate to mother of five — meet the new DTC drivers
Navneet Chaudhary, traffic and depot senior manager at Raj Ghat, said the minimum requirements to become a bus driver for women include qualification of up to Class 10, a height of 153 cm, a medical examination, and a heavy vehicle licence.
DTC bus drivers at Raj Ghat bus depot. Abhinav Saha By Vidheesha Kuntamalla
Some hit by the pandemic, some who joined the profession by chance, and one who followed her passion — the Delhi Transport Corporation has over the past year hired several women to drive its buses.
On Friday, the government inducted 13 women drivers into the DTC bus fleet, taking the total to 34.
“I started out as a car driver in 2014 and did that for five years but the pandemic hit and I was out of work. I worked for a few months for a private company in Gurgaon. In February 2022, a friend of mine told me about this, so I got a heavy vehicle licence and decided to start working for DTC,” said Anjali (32), who was born in Bihar’s Manikpur village.
“My husband works as a painter at a daily wage of Rs 250-300; I took up this job to feed my family,” she told The Indian Express.
Navneet Chaudhary, traffic and depot senior manager at Raj Ghat, said the minimum requirements to become a bus driver for women include qualification of up to Class 10, a height of 153 cm, a medical examination, and a heavy vehicle licence.
“Men often underestimate us saying that women cannot do such a stressful job, but we are doing this,” Anjali said.
Among the first women drivers in DTC, V Saritha, who was appointed in 2015, said there are instances that have made her feel unsafe. She was hired in 2015, before which she drove an auto.
“In 2016, there was an incident where a boy abused me. I wrote a letter to DTC explaining what happened, which is when I was allotted a marshal to accompany me,” she said.
The women, however, have been hired contractually and want permanent jobs. Contractual drivers are paid Rs 8 per kilometre they drive.
“We make sure to pay a daily wage of Rs 783 per day even if a driver completes only 10 kilometres,” said Durgesh Nandini, deputy chief general operations and administration.
Nirmala Devi (38), from Jaunpur, UP, is one of the 13 newly recruited women drivers and will start her duty Wednesday. Devi is a single mother with four daughters and a son. She also owns a private taxi and said that she planned on driving the bus in the morning shift between 6 am and 2 pm and her private taxi at night. “I am the only breadwinner at my house, I need the extra money to take care of my children,” she said.
Asked if she felt safer driving a government bus, Devi replied “Women are never safe, neither at home nor outside.”
Another newly inducted driver, Yogita Puril, took up the job because she likes driving. “When I was young, I asked the auto driver who took me to school to teach me how to drive. My parents had always encouraged me to follow my dream,” said Puril, who studied commerce at DU.
A common demand was for better toilets and facilities.
Anita Kumari, 29, said, “We only get to use the washroom at the bus terminals, and on days when there is a lot of traffic, I feel helpless. They should look into better facilities and also about the possibility of menstrual leave.”
“We have not incorporated menstrual leaves yet… If there is a problem in washrooms and staff rooms, we will look into it … We will work on installing sanitary napkin vending machines. We give women duties of their choice and allot depots near their houses to ensure their safety,” said Shilpa Shinde, managing director, DTC.
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