50 of Bihar’s 400 new PM e-buses to run as pink buses

Fifty of the 400 PM e-buses being inducted into the Bihar State Road Transport Corporation’s (BSRTC) fleet this financial year would be deployed as ‘pink buses’, said its administrator Atul Verma, as an impact assessment study, released in Patna on Tuesday, showed the women-only bus service had become a trusted lifeline for female commuters across Patna, Muzaffarpur and Gaya

Fifty of the 400 PM e-buses being inducted into the Bihar State Road Transport Corporation’s (BSRTC) fleet this financial year would be deployed as ‘pink buses’, said its administrator Atul Verma, as an impact assessment study, released in Patna on Tuesday, showed the women-only bus service had become a trusted lifeline for female commuters across Patna, Muzaffarpur and Gaya.

The study — based on surveys of 109 women commuters, five focus group discussions with 36 women conductors, and interviews with nodal officers and BSRTC’s administrator — found that 93% of women surveyed picked the pink bus specifically for safety, and the service scored an average satisfaction rating of 4.6 out of 5. Around 95% said they preferred it over other travel options, revealed the study, conducted by MicroSave Consulting (MSC), on behalf of the transport department and the BSRTC.

Yet daily usage lags far behind demand. In Patna, while half of women commute daily, only 17% use the pink bus regularly, and just 22% said the bus timings fully matched their travel needs. Nearly half of commuters said they did not know bus schedules, relying instead on informal WhatsApp groups or simply watching for buses at the stop. Irregular timings (39%) and limited route coverage (21%) emerged as the biggest barriers to wider use.

On the supply side, the initiative has created Bihar’s first cohort of women bus conductors and drivers, part of the state’s 2025 decision to reserve 33% of transport-sector roles for women.

The need now is for an all-women crew to run the pink buses to build on women safety comfort. The BSRTC has identified 21 women drivers but has presently enrolled six such drivers and 120 conductors. The remaining are awaiting their driving licence after having undergone almost year-long training to drive heavy motor vehicles.

For many, including Ragini Kumari — Bihar’s first Pink Bus driver, who grew up in Punpun where girls were expected to prioritise marriage — the job has meant economic independence, dignity and a very public break from convention, said the report. However, the study also flagged real strain: 12-13 hour workdays, delayed salaries, inconsistent duty rosters, limited washroom access at depots, and instances of harassment and gender-stereotyping from the public, including one conductor’s account of a late-night trip where the bus had to speed past a group of men blocking the road.

The report called for structured awareness campaigns, real-time bus tracking, digital passenger information, NCMC (national common mobility card)-enabled smart cards, timely salary disbursal, formal grievance redressal mechanisms, mandatory POSH (prevention of sexual harassment) training for depot staff and drivers, and the need for a crèche for children of women staff as the initiative scales up.

Since its launch in the 2025-26 state budget, the pink bus network in the state has grown from an initial fleet of 20 buses in May 2025 — clocking 33,000 ridership in two months — to 80 buses by September 2025. As on date, Patna accounts for 30 pink buses, Gaya 15, Muzaffarpur 20, Darbhanga 11, Purnia 10 and Bhagalpur 14.

The pink buses have panic buttons, CCTV surveillance, GPS tracking, sanitary napkins, contraceptive pills, mobile charging points, and a music system.

Bihar’s pink bus initiative won the SKOCH award 2026 for governance and innovation along the way. With 50 new electric buses set to join the fleet this year, the state has signalled that the pink livery isn’t going away as the network turns electric.