DTC’s women bus drivers stave off gender barriers, turn by turn

Pooja was all of eight or nine years old when she first hopped on her father’s two-wheeler for a ride and loved it

Pooja was all of eight or nine years old when she first hopped on her father’s two-wheeler for a ride and loved it. Years later, now 22, she has been a driver with Delhi Transport Corporation for a month and is fighting everyday sexism in one way or another, sometimes blatant, often sly.

Pooja, a 22-year-old DTC woman driver on the bus from Najafgarh to Mehrauli bus depot, in New Delhi. (Raj K Raj/HT Photo)

DTC provides mobility to nearly 30 lakh people daily by public buses. While there was only one woman driver till August, the DTC trained and employed more than 11 more in the same month. Although the numbers are growing slowly as more and more trained drivers join in, it’s not smooth sailing for all.

In October, the Delhi government said it planned to recruit women drivers for the DTC buses. The state transport minister had said that they will recruit about 200 women drivers as a part of its effort to provide employment opportunities to them. He had also handed over appointment letters to the first batch of 11 women bus drivers who had completed their training.

Living in a two bedroom house with her parents, brother, sister-in-law and their child in Mundka, Pooja comes from what she calls a lower middle class income group. This young woman, who was never told that her gender defined what she could or could not do, has to now bear raised eyebrows and snide remarks on the road. There are those who are proud to see her as a driver, but that’s a consolation that comes once in a few days.

Pooja starts her day at 4:30am. Her mother packs her breakfast and lunch and she boards a bus to reach Nangloi depot, where she is allotted a bus and route for the month. This month, she is riding on route number 539 from Nangloi to Mehrauli and back.

At 7am sharp, Pooja leaves the depot with a marshal, Seema, 46, and a male conductor who did not wish to be named. DTC drivers sometimes drive rashly, but these new women drivers might be able to mend the tarnished image as Pooja carefully navigated through potholes and broken roads to ensure a smooth ride.

As the bus stops at Kamruddin Nagar, a few passengers enter. The first reaction of a few men and women are hard to miss - while a woman enters with a smile looking at Pooja, a male passenger looks rather surprised.

“This is commonplace. A few days ago, an uncle said ‘Arey ladki gaadi chala rahi hai?’ (A girl is driving the bus?) to which I asked him if I am driving alright. He said yes. I said ‘Gaadi kaisi chal rahi hai, ye dekho, kaun chala raha hai.. ye nahin (See how the bus is being driven, not who is driving it)”.

This was not an isolated incident.

Though Pooja did not want to name them, but she said there are a handful of male drivers and conductors who make fun of women DTC drivers. “Will they be able to drive?” they laugh. But she says that when she comes back after completing her route well in time, that’s an answer in itself to them.

That’s not all. “Women drivers are supposed to be given the red AC buses, but we are given the green ones. I don’t have a problem but rules are not being followed,” she said. “Those managing depots have also been told that women drivers will be allotted duties after their preference is asked, but no one listens. I had also asked for 4:30am duty, but after I requested the third time. I was threatened that I’ll be transferred from the depot if I complained too much.”

Young women who board the bus are often inspired by her. Neha Pandey, 28, resident of XX who works at a supermarket in Gurugram, was awed by the driver and asked her how to become a DTC driver. “I have been travelling by bus for years. For the last one month, I have encountered two women drivers and the best thing is that they stop,” Pandey said. “Seeing more women passengers on a bus stop, many male drivers don’t stop because we don’t have to pay for the ticket. I hope this will not be the case with women drivers. Also, it gives a sense of security.”

Pooja said she has travelled in buses since she was going to school, and she knows the kind of problems women can face. Neha’s experience of male drivers not stopping the bus for women passengers is not isolated. “I have faced this myself so many times. Which is why I stop for everyone - be it kids, elderly, men or women,” she said

But while there are rare encounters like the elderly man, there are more often unpleasant experiences with male drivers on a road. On a weekend morning, as Pooja drove on her route, a cluster bus driver rode adjacent to her and tried to overtake. She didn’t let him. He mumbled a few words and sped, Pooja said.

Pooja had to take a left turn and as she tried to do so, the cluster bus’ front mirror broke. She slowed the bus but the cluster bus driver hit her bus from behind, damaging the bumper and his own front mirror as well, she said.

“Jab chalani nahi aati to inko bus dete kyun hai? (When they don’t know how to ride, why are they given buses),” the male driver said during a high power drama on the road. The matter was resolved after police were called by Pooja.

“There are so many women out there who travel at night and have to go through unpleasant experience on public transport. I want to change that. I would love a night duty as well. But my next aim is driving a Volvo and then a truck, commercially,” Pooja said.