BENGALURU: State-run buses could soon have more women at the wheel with the government looking at formulating a special policy to reserve 50% of drivers’ posts for women in Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation ( KSRTC ) and Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation ( BMTC ).

Transport minister H M Revanna, who held a review meeting with officials of KSRTC and BMTC last Friday, has asked the authorities to come up with a draft policy to incentivize women candidates willing to take up the job of driving heavy transport vehicles (HTVs). They’d be trained and also given a special stipend, after which they’d be absorbed into service.

If this reservation indeed comes through, Karnataka will become the first state to set aside 50% of driving jobs for women in state-run transport utilities.

"We will not only give women free training in driving HTVs, but also issue them free driving licences. While countries such as China, Britain and Italy have women bus drivers, Karnataka will become the first state to provide 50% reservation for women in this job at government transport agencies," Revanna told TOI. "The minister wanted a special policy to encourage women to take up this job. Accordingly, work is in progress and we’ll soon call candidates for training," said S R Umashankar, managing director, KSRTC.

The state transport ministry is planning to partner with Karnataka Vocational Training and Skill Development Corporation limited (KVTSDC) to train the women candidates. KSRTC officials said the training programme was expected to commence next month.

Nagaraj Yadav, BMTC chairman, said the corporation would utilize Rs 57 crore granted under the Nirbhaya fund to pay stipend to woman candidates. "The idea is in line with women empowerment and the move would definitely reduce rudeness on road," said Yadav. He hoped women drivers would up the brand equity of government transport agencies, which are otherwise derided by public for rash driving and road rage.

The training programme will be conducted at eight driving tracks of KSRTC, including the ones in Bagalkot, Hassan, Malavalli, Chikkamagaluru, Humnabad, and Hagaribommanahalli.

This isn’t the first time that KSRTC and BMTC are going for a recruitment drive to appoint women drivers. While 30% of drivers’ posts are reserved for women like in any other government job, the response has been very poor. Of the 11,059 drivers at KSRTC, only two are women and none of the 11,152 drivers in BMTC is a woman. The agency has six driver-cum-conductors, of whom one is a woman, but she prefers the conductor’s duty.

"An exclusive government policy is needed to encourage women to take up this kind of job and the state government’s initiative is a welcome move," said Ameenamma Nadaf, a woman driver with KSRTC, who joined the service in January and is working at Tumakuru bus depot.

Another woman driver at KSRTC is Veena Hosamma, who joined along with Ameenamma and is attached to Chikkaballapur depot.

