Latest statistics of the transport department show that women are coming in large numbers to get themselves registered for licences to be conductors in public transport undertakings in Maharashtra.
After the city’s local trains, women are now taking charge of buses.
Latest statistics of the transport department show that women are coming in large numbers to get themselves registered for licences to be conductors in public transport undertakings in Maharashtra.
“There has been an over 200% rise in the number of women who have lined up to register as bus conductors. They may eventually seek transfers, but we have a significant number of conductors of the fairer sex in Maharashtra now,” a senior transport department official said.
In Mumbai alone, there were seven women who got licences in 2008. The figure went up to 107 in 2009. As compared to the total figure of 5,027 in 2008 for Maharashtra, the number stood at 24,523 in 2009.
The highest increase was in the rural belts and smaller townships where new local bus transport services have started to ply. The Nagpur region tops the list with 6,307 women conductors.
Women prefer state transport buses more to the city transport ones. Unlike in a city bus, passenger movement is not constant in state transport buses. The conductor does not have to move from one end to the other to hand out tickets. State transport buses also have a reserved seat for conductors unlike the civic transport buses.
Rajani Pawar, a woman candidate and a new recruit, said, “Not all commuters behave properly with a woman conductor. Some do not give change, while some are just stubborn. Then there are those who get more aggressive and pick up quarrels on small issues when they find a woman conductor. Some will try and push and brush against us, but then we know how to teach them a lesson.”
Surekha Patil, who got herself transferred from a conductor’s job to one in the office, said, “The challenge is okay up to a certain age. Later, it becomes a problem.”
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