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UP’s first woman govt bus driver, Priyanka takes the road in style
She is among the 26 women drivers hired by Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) for pink bus services. Presently she is driving a long-distance bus from Kaushambi bus depot to Dehradun, Rishikesh, Meerut, Lucknow, Moradabad and Bareilly.
Donning the khaki uniform as she adjusts herself on the driver’s seat and finally grabs the steering wheel, 31-year-old Priyanka Sharma knows pretty well that now she is incharge, not only of the safety of the passengers but also of her own life.
This gritty woman, who greets everyone with a smile, has become the state’s first government bus driver, overcoming several struggles. She is among the 26 women drivers hired by Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) for pink bus services.
Presently she is driving a long-distance bus from Kaushambi bus depot to Dehradun, Rishikesh, Meerut, Lucknow, Moradabad and Bareilly.
“When I started calling passengers at the depot for my maiden journey, people would look at me with curiosity. A few asked me if I would drive the bus. I smiled nodding my head. They looked at each other and boarded the bus. It was nice to see that people started accepting women as bus drivers. Women conductors were already there in UPSRTC Pink buses,” she said.
Her first duty was to ferry 50 passengers from Kaushambi to Meerut. “I have driven buses to destinations like Dehradun, Moradabad, Bareilly and Lucknow. It is nice to be seated on the driving seat in a commanding position. It gives a sense of responsibility that several precious lives are in my hand,” she said.
But the road to success for this woman was not an easy one.
Priyanka got married to Rajiv Singh, a guard who worked in a showroom in 2002. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with kidney problem due to excessive drinking and succumbed to it in 2016 leaving her and their two sons on the brink of beggary. After the passing away of her husband early into her marriage, she had the sole responsibility of raising her two children.
She shifted to Delhi for better opportunities and took up a job in a factory as a helper. But she was not getting enough money to raise her sons. She decided to take driving lessons and started driving trucks. Later when UPSRTC advertised for women bus drivers, she applied and got selected.
“When UPSRTC advertised vacant posts for women drivers, I applied. I passed the training in May and got posting in September. Although our salary is less, we are receiving good support from the officers of the department who assured us that the post will get regularised after six months,” she said.
Priyanka is hoping that once she gets a permanent job with UPSRTC, her life will be sorted out because she will be able to send her children to the best of schools for better education so that they may lead a respectable life.
