For first time in 75 years, women drivers take charge of MSRTC buses

Representational Pic. iStock

Breaking male hegemony, a few women on Thursday drove buses of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) for the first time in its 75-year history.

The state-owned public transport body has recruited 28 women drivers and a few of them started driving passenger buses from Thursday, said its spokesperson Abhijit Bhosale.

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It was the start of "a new era," he said.

Madhavi Santosh Salve was among the first women drivers of the corporation as she commanded the steering wheel of a Sinnar-Nashik bus.

MSRTC vice-chairman and managing director Shekhar Channe told PTI that the women drivers who possessed the heavy vehicle license underwent rigorous training of three months, while those who did not have this licence underwent training for a full one year.

At the end of it, a test was conducted, and those who cleared it underwent another 80-day training.

As many as 206 women drivers had qualified in a direct recruitment scheme in 2019, and so far 28 of them have been recruited. Some of the qualified women opted out as the pandemic delayed the process.

The MSRTC, which has a fleet of more than 16,000 buses, already has more than 5,500 women conductors in its ranks.

MSRTC buses are considered Maharashtra's lifeline as they connect remote villages located in difficult terrains with town and cities across the state.

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