The government has initiated a move to introduce a women-only bus service in the capital despite limited institutional capacity and the lacklustre performance of existing similar services.

The road transport and bridges ministry is planning to launch the service with the existing workforce of the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation, which has only 16 female drivers.

Only six of them have professional licences to drive heavy vehicles such as buses. None of these six drivers currently operates buses under the corporation.

The remaining 10 female drivers hold professional licences to drive light vehicles.

Currently, nine double-decker buses operate under the women-bus service on nine routes, mostly within the capital.

These buses make only two trips a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. For the rest of the day, seven of the buses operate in regular city services.

Prime minister Tarique Rahman on March 2 directed the road transport and bridges minister, Sheikh Robiul Islam, to launch a dedicated bus service for women in Dhaka to make public transport safer and more comfortable for female passengers.

A dedicated bus service for women is not new in Dhaka, as it has been introduced several times since 2001. However, the initiative has never made any significant impact.

Passengers blame the shortage of buses and inconvenient schedules for the failure of the BRTC-run women-only bus service.

All drivers of these buses are male, while only two of the nine conductors are female.

BRTC deputy general manager (operation) Sukdev Dhali admitted that the staff of the buses illegally take male passengers on the upper deck due to a shortage of female passengers.

According to the BRTC, the buses under the women-bus service currently operate on the Rupnagar–Motijheel, Mirpur-12–Motijheel, Narayanganj–Dhaka, Mohammadpur–Motijheel, Natunbazar–Motijheel, Taltola–Motijheel, Meradia–Motijheel, Demra–GPO Crossing and Kalabagan–Motijheel routes.

These buses begin their journeys between 7:30am and 8:15am from their starting points and start their return trips between 3:30pm and 5:15pm.

On Wednesday, a bus on the Taltola–Motijheel route began its journey from Taltola at about 8:30am with only two female passengers.

By the time it crossed TT Para intersection, the lower deck was full of female passengers.

The bus driver said that he had been operating buses under the women’s service since 2001.

Some male passengers boarded the upper deck.

Shahina Akhter, a regular passenger who travels to Motijheel for work at NCC Bank, expressed dissatisfaction over allowing men on women-only buses.

Sanjida Begum, another passenger, said that the corporation should increase the number of trips to make the service popular.

Residents of the capital’s Khilgaon area said that they could not use the service because the buses do not operate during midday.

BRTC chairman Abdul Latif Mollah admitted that the current women-bus service is insufficient and that the corporation does not have the necessary workforce to introduce an expanded women-only service at present.

‘Although the corporation has six permanent female drivers with heavy driving licences, they usually train others in light vehicles and are not accustomed to driving buses,’ he said, adding that they would receive a two-week refresher training starting next week.

He also said that the corporation hoped to upgrade the light driving licences of the remaining 10 female drivers to heavy vehicle driving licences within the next six months.

‘If that is not possible, we will start the service with the six drivers,’ he added.

According to the Road Transport Rules 2022, a light professional licence holder cannot apply for a heavy vehicle licence without at least three years of experience.

However, a light licence holder who has completed one year of training to operate heavy vehicles under a government-approved programme may apply for a heavy vehicle licence, provided the applicant is at least 23 years old.

In addition, professional drivers require public transport clearance from the authorities concerned to operate public transport vehicles.

The six permanent female drivers with heavy vehicle licences are Monowara Begum, Rabeya Begum, Jannatul Ferdous, Umme Habiba, Rabeya Khatun and Fahima Akhter.

Rabeya Khatun told New Age that she joined BRTC in 2019 and is currently providing training to female learner drivers at BRTC’s Jashore training institute.

She said that she had never driven a bus.

‘I only have experience driving light vehicles,’ she said, adding that they had never received bus-driving training.

Road transport and bridges minister Sheikh Robiul Islam told New Age that the initiative aimed to ensure safer bus travel for women in line with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s electoral manifesto.

He said that steps had already been taken to ensure that drivers, assistants, supervisors and passengers of the women-only bus service would be women.

As most BRTC female drivers are not trained to operate heavy vehicles, he said that he had instructed authorities to provide the necessary training as soon as possible.

The minister also said that more female drivers would be appointed and the number of buses under the existing service would be increased.

‘The existing BRTC service for women is very insufficient and barely noticeable,’ he said, adding that the government hoped to launch the expanded women-only bus service within the next six months.