Women put their BEST foot forward

Initially, they will be given bus routes which have a light load of passengers. For some time, they will work on the upper deck of double decker buses and later be shifted to the routes known for heavy passenger load.

Even before they were appointed, Pranita Raut and Supriya Khade, confident that they would be inducted into the BEST, had armed themselves with a conductor’s licence from the State Transport Corporation.

Rajashree Kalibaug, who worked as a salesman earlier, said as women would now work for the first time as bus conductors, “we will make the most of this golden opportunity andprove that women can do exceedingly well in this field too.”

Supriya Khade said it was untrue that they had decided to become conductors because they couldn’t land a job elsewhere, and pointed out that none of the seven girls had to face any opposition from their families to take up this task. “I am married, and both by parents and in-laws supported my decision. Due to their qualities like sensitivity, patience, sense of forgivance, and caution, women are well-equipped for the role of a conductor,” she added.

Amita Parulekar said they would strive to establish good communication with their male colleagues. “In the initial months of our training programme, some of our male colleagues looked derisively at us, but after they realised we were serious about what we were doing, they actually began encouraging us,” she pointed out.

The assistant traffic director at the BEST training centre, Chandrashekhar Rane, said the training programme for the women conductors began two weeks ago, and it will continuefor another two weeks before they start work. Under the programme, these women will have BEST workers and officers as passengers in their buses.