In a first in state, 72 women conductors join CTU fleet

Come July and you will find women conductors handing over tickets to you when you board a Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU) bus.

The CTU has hired 246 conductors, of which 72 are women. Chandigarh has become third state in the country after Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh to recruit women conductors.

The CTU had conducted an exam for the recruitment of conductors in November last year, but the process got delayed after some candidates moved the Punjab and Haryana high court. After getting interim directions from the court, the result was declared.

Director, transport, TPS Phoolka said the highest score of male candidate was 82.5%, while among female candidates it was 75% in the written test. No interview was conducted to ensure complete transparency. The last recruitment of conductors in the CTU was done in January 2004.

Phoolka said women conductors were being recruited as the administration felt that it would help in improving the safety and security of female passengers.

Women conductors will be deployed on routes which have more female commuters and on all-woman buses. At present, there are at total of nine buses reserved for women commuters.

These buses ply in the city from different destinations from 8am to 8.35am, 1pm to 1.35pm, and 2.45pm and 3.05pm.

The female women conductors will be made to undergo special training before being put on duty.

The CTU has also completed the process of recruitment of 114 bus drivers, of which 51 have already joined their duties and the rest are likely to join within a few days after the completion of verification of their documents.

The drivers were recruited after passing a driving test and also a written test.