State capital rolls out ‘pink buses’ for women

Strap: The buses will cover a distance of nearly 7km between Kutchery Chowk and Rajendra Chowk at just ₹5 Buses meant exclusively for women, called “Pink Buses”, were rolled out on the capital city’s roads on Friday by Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC)

Strap: The buses will cover a distance of nearly 7km between Kutchery Chowk and Rajendra Chowk at just ₹5

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Buses meant exclusively for women, called “Pink Buses”, were rolled out on the capital city’s roads on Friday by Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC).

The buses were flagged off by Ranchi mayor Asha Lakra and RMC chief executive officer (CEO) Mukesh Kumar from city’s Kutchery chowk. The bus will run between Kutchery Chowk and Rajendra Chowk, around 7km, at a nominal charge of ₹5.

The service that takes its name from the colour of the bus was aimed at providing safe mode of transportation to women, who regularly face physical and mental harassment by miscreants on public transportation, officials said.

Barring the driver, the buses have an all-female staff. However, the civic body was in search of a woman driver, officials said.

It was to be noted that RMC was running two such buses earlier too. However, the service was suspended after thr lockdown triggered by Covid-19 pandemic was implemented in March last year.

Besides, the old buses failed to get attention, as they were of the same colour as that of other city buses. Moreover, the old buses started to pick male passengers due to low turnout of female passengers.

However, RMC officials were hopeful that the new pink buses will turn out to be a success, as they were rolled out exclusively for women. “A toll free number will be provided in the bus on which passengers can lodge complaint in case male passengers were given entry into the bus or other issues,” the Ranchi mayor said.

RMC CEO Mukesh Kumar said, “Two more pink buses are being prepared. They will be rolled out between Dhurwa to Kishori Yadav Chowk via Kantatoli next week.”

On the first day of being rolled out, the buses received positive response, officials said. RMC city manager Nandlal Baraik, who was looking after the city bus operation in Ranchi, said, “The buses received a positive response on the very first day. College students and working women used the buses. After seeing this response, more buses will be plied in the city.”

Sarita Devi, a passenger, said, “The most attractive part of the pink bus is its fare. It is providing a journey of 7km at just ₹5, while other modes of transport, whether an auto or e-rickshaw, take at least ₹20 for the same route.”

With the addition of the two buses, the number of buses plying on city roads rose to 32.

Apart from the buses, “pink auto service” was also popular in the city since 2014.