Women drivers missing from UPSRTC fleet, despite 7,188 vacancies

Since the selection of the first 17 women candidates finalised in early 2023, gender inclusivity in UPSRTC’s contract employment appears to have remained largely symbolic.

The Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC), in its extensive statewide driver recruitment drive set to conclude on Tuesday, November 10, has once again failed to recruit any women for its fleet, despite having 7188 positions to fill, informed SRTC authorities on Monday.

Across states, no women have shown any interest in applying for these positions. The first and only recruitment drive run for women concluded within weeks, with an initial shortlist of 22 candidates, which was later reduced to 17 in early 2023, says official. (FOR REPRESENTATION)

Since the selection of the first 17 women candidates finalised in early 2023, gender inclusivity in UPSRTC’s contract employment appears to have remained largely symbolic.

At a meeting held in September this year, the UPSRTC managing director, Masoom Ali Sarwar while announcing details of strengthening the bus fleet ahead of Mahakumbh 2025, said that in the driver recruitment process, the transport corporation will also be encouraging women to join the fleet. However, no tangible steps have been taken by the authorities to promote gender inclusivity in the workforce so far.

The state currently operates 50 pink buses, 17 of which run on Lucknow routes, according to Ajit Singh, general manager and spokesperson, UPSRTC HQ. However, over the past two years, only 17 women have been trained to drive these buses.

“A majority of the pink buses are driven by men, while only a few women driving on short routes. Those among the shortlisted women who have not yet obtained their licences are currently employed in minor roles at bus depots in their respective districts,” informed Singh.

MD Sarwar said, “We have not allocated a specific percentage of positions for women, nor have we made any changes to the age or qualification requirements. If women wish to apply, they are welcome to do so.”

He also mentioned that across states, no women have shown any interest in applying for these positions. The first and only recruitment drive run for women concluded within weeks, with an initial shortlist of 22 candidates, which was later reduced to 17 in early 2023.

“The training of these women took two years, and some are still waiting to receive their licenses,” he added.

Furthermore, Ashish Singh, General Manager (Technical) at UPSRTC Headquarters, who is overseeing the latest and largest statewide recruitment effort, confirmed that no separate measures have been implemented to encourage the recruitment of female drivers. He mentioned that there were no separate registration processes, awareness campaigns or informational advertisements to promote this opportunity.

“As far as we know, not a single woman has appeared at any of the registration and testing centres to enrol their names,” he said adding, “However, we would not turn away a woman if she applied and met all the criteria.”

With the employment fairs concluding on Tuesday and the second phase of driving tests set to begin, spokesperson Ajit Singh said, “With only one day left for applicants to visit the zonal registration points, we have received over 12000 applicants from across the state.” He added, “However, it has not been common for women to voluntarily apply for bus driver positions without some form of encouragement or publicity about the initiative.”