Now, ladies special in BEST buses

BEST to launch four bus services exclusively for women from June 1; conductors aboard them will also be female

BEST to launch four bus services exclusively for women from June 1; conductors aboard them will also be female
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Jostling in locals and buses is a way of life in the metropolis you have willy-nilly become accustomed to. Of course, for the women among you, it is another story.

Half your energy is spent hunting for a seat or even sheer space to hold your own on the wobbly ride, and the remnant is used up parrying unsolicited overtures and ignoring intent gazes. But not any more.

The decision was arrived at after BEST did a survey and found that travelling in buses during peak hours can be nasty, more so for female passengers

The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport has finally caught up to the railways in setting aside services explicitly devoted to ladies. In a brand new move, the BEST will launch four new bus services exclusively for women from June 1.

Sunil Shinde, chairman, BEST, said, "We will commence four ladies special buses on the four most crowded routes in the city from June 1. This is a good initiative, welcomed by most."

Conductors too
And putting an old tried-but-failed idea to practice again, the undertaking, which caters to 42 lakh passengers every day also plans to bring back women conductors aboard these buses.

Only this time, it stands a better chance, what with no hectoring and gawping by male passengers. "Apart from this, we are also planning to bring back lady conductors to make female passengers more comfortable while travelling," Shinde added.

The decision was arrived at after BEST did a survey and found that travelling in buses during peak hours can be nasty, more so for female passengers.

"In our survey, we found that the areas chosen for the ladies special buses have more women passengers during peak hours, and they are inconvenienced by the rush," Shinde said.

Not that anyone needs a dedicated study to confirm the metropolis's famous platitude of packed public transport.

A look at the buses trundling on the city's bumpy roads crammed with a non-gender-specific populace, fighting one another's advances brought on by sudden jerks, would have given an accurate assessment of exactly how comfortable the ride is, particularly for women. But the move is welcome nonetheless.

The services
Initially, there will be four ladies special buses running during peak hours on four routes, morning and evening (see box).

Though the morning timing has been decided, evening hours are still under consideration. "There are reserved seats in our buses, but during peak hours, they do not suffice.

We receive a lot of complaints on a regular basis about male passengers misbehaving with women," said a senior BEST official on the condition of anonymity.

After having initially flirted with the idea of female conductors in 1998 it was even implemented for a short window of time but the transport body did away with it following harassment complaints by conductors the body is planning to resurrect it.

"But this time, the female conductors will be assigned to ladies special buses only. Women conductors earlier pressed into service had complained of eve-teasing and lewd comments from male passengers. After their request, we divested them of the onboard job of the conductor," added the official.

Pradnya Maske, Pranita Raut and Supriya Khade were three of the seven women who were deployed by BEST as seven women conductors in 1998

Earlier stint
Back in 1998, Pranita Raut, Supriya Khade, Rajashree Kalibaug, Amita Parulekar, Vaij Teni, Sangeeta Tangne and Pradnya Maske were the seven women conductors who were deployed as a part of the BEST fleet of conductors on August 7, the day which is celebrated as the BEST Day.

Within a period of a year, these women conductors requested to be redeployed from the onboard designation to clerical or other office work. They had undergone a month's training.
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"We had not burdened them with a lot of work. We just wanted to see if they could work onboard. They had been assigned only to work on the upper deck of double-decker buses, so face lesser loads. But this tactic had failed," the official added.

In all, there are 12,000 conductors working for the undertaking. Only seven had been women conductors, and currently, there are none.

According to sources from BEST, at that time two women conductors had miscarried due to the stress and long hours of hectic work.
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One of the women conductors spoke to MiD DAY. She said, "It was physically strenuous, especially for pregnant workers. Also, certain remarks that male passengers make are unbearable. We felt so insecure and vulnerable. If they did not pass demeaning comments, they would gawp at us. It was very embarrassing."

Incidentally, on March 8 this year, 39-year-old Sulochana Bansode became the first woman conductor in the Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (NMMT) services.

Ladies first
In 1991, the BEST introduced reservation for women in buses. Six seats in the front were reserved for women. Then it launched a 'ladies first' facility in which women were given priority while boarding. Both practices are followed till date.

Women only
The routes and timings of the four buses are:
Route No 169: Worli Village to Plaza Cinema (Dadar) 0845 am
Route No 55: Lower Parel station to Kurle Chowk (Worli) 0850 am
Route No 154: Mahalaxmi station to Nehru Planetarium (Worli) 0905 am
Route No 343: Goregaon east to Nagari Nivara Parishad (Goregaon) 0925 am

4,700
The number of buses in the BEST's fleet

8,000
The number of drivers and conductors on its payroll

4,500
The number of daily-wage drivers and conductors

4
Number of routes on which these buses will ply

Voices
I think that special ladies' buses will make travelling comfortable for us. The usual collision with male commuters due to swift turns will be avoided.
Karuna Bhalekar (23), Lalbaug

The general buses have 11-12 seats reserved for ladies. The new buses might not have enough passengers as they are specially for ladies.
Sulaika Mahadev (35), Parel

The ladies buses will have more security at all times.
Rohini Gujjar (19), Currey Road

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Just like the special ladies trains, the ladies buses will facilitate travellers. It will not make that much of a difference though.
Suvarna Kamley (30), Bhoiwada