Think tanks urge MoHUA to boost women e-bus drivers under PM scheme

The report recommended that MoHUA launch a dedicated programme for women e-bus drivers aligned with the PM e-Bus Sewa scheme

An industry-think tank research on Friday recommended a dedicated programme (under the PM e-Bus Sewa scheme) to train and recruit women as electric bus drivers, saying it could help bridge the sector’s growing workforce shortage while creating tens of thousands of meaningful jobs for women.

A senior MoHUA official said the ministry would encourage the enrolment of women bus drivers. (Representative Photo/iStock)

The report identifies regulatory norms such as licensing requirements, minimum height and age caps, to disproportionately impact women’s entry. Depending on state regulations, new entrants can take between 16 and 44 months to become eligible for public bus driving.

It makes the following recommendations to attract, skill, and retain women: revise eligibility norms such as mandatory 2-3 years experience post-HMV license, create and maintain gender-sensitive infrastructure such as well-lit, ventilated, clean, hygienic toilets, rest areas, locker rooms for women, undertake sensitisation of all depot staff, enable safety through work place policies, ensure pay parity with wages as that of skilled workers, and work place benefits. Desk duty may be considered during menstruation and pregnancy; split shifts. Instead of insisting on on-site creches, cash vouchers/ payments maybe provided to parents availing off-site creche facilities.

The recommendations were made in the report, ‘She Drives Bharat: Scaling Women’s Employment as e-Bus Drivers in Urban Operations’ released by Bus and Car Operators Confederation of India Naree (BOCI’s women wing), think tanks--the Centre for Sustainable and Equitable Cities and The Urban Catalysts at the Prawaas 5.0 mobility conference in Gandhinagar.

The report recommends that MoHUA launch a dedicated programme for women e-bus drivers aligned with the PM e-Bus Sewa scheme, creating a structured pathway for women holding commercial light motor vehicle licences to upgrade to heavy passenger motor vehicle licences and enter the urban bus workforce.

Responding to the report, a senior MoHUA official said the ministry would encourage the enrolment of women bus drivers through the soon to be launched Green Urban Mobility Initiative under PM e-Bus Sewa, but recruitment decisions would remain with operators.

“Under the Green Urban Mobility Initiative of PM e-Bus Sewa, the ministry will encourage the enrolment of women bus drivers through capacity-building programmes. Ultimately, recruitment is an industry’s call. MoHUA will not provide financial incentives specifically for inclusion, but will support capacity-building and skilling efforts,” the official said.

According to the report, India is expected to deploy at least 50,000 e-buses in urban operations by 2030, creating demand for an estimated 1.15 lakh to 1.25 lakh drivers. Achieving 30-50% women’s representation in this workforce could create employment opportunities for 37,500 to 62,500 women, it said.

The report estimates that between 4.57 lakh and 4.86 lakh women already hold commercial light motor vehicle licences as of March 2025. Enabling just 10% of them to upgrade to heavy passenger motor vehicle licences along with workplace improvements (mentioned above) could create a pipeline of more than 45,000 women e-bus drivers. It estimates that training this workforce would require a total investment of ₹99 crore to ₹166 crore.