Karachi: Women drivers of pink buses run for women

Abdul Shakoor, manager of People’s Bus Service in Karachi, says that pink buses in the city will now be driven by trained women drivers whose training program is in its final stages.

18 women divers are being trained to drive buses by the Sindh Mass Transit Authority, a subsidiary of the Sindh government.

Earlier, women conductors have also been hired in buses, these women divers are being trained on various equipment including driving, engine, battery, communication and safety skills including diesel hybrid, electric hybrid and full electric bus.

Initially, when the pink bus service was launched, the urban women were skeptical that the bus conductor should also be a female driver, but now after this training program, women will drive not only the pink bus but other modern buses as well. .

Uzmi Siddiq, a woman who will take the driving seat and become a bus captain in the near future, told Independent Urdu that she is a housewife as well as giving driving training to women.

According to Uzmi, she is also a bike rider but did not miss the opportunity to get bus driving training to advance herself in the transport sector and these days she is training with dedication.

Uzmi said that ‘I felt a lot of difference between driving a car and a bus, but now I have learned it completely. Soon other women drivers including me will be seen driving buses on the roads of Karachi, for which I am hopeful that men will also drive. We will be appreciated.’

According to Uzmi Siddique: ‘If you have strong ambitions, nothing is difficult. We will prove by our actions that women can also drive a bus. Women should leave their homes and learn like us and then work.’

Operational Manager People’s Bus Abdul Shakoor says that in the first phase women who have a driving license will be allowed to drive on the BRT.

In the first phase of training, women have been taught driving by the Motorway Police. Now the second phase of training is going on at Mehran depot. The presence of female drivers and conductors in pink buses has presented a practical example of an empowered and strong woman.

Abdul Shakoor said that ‘transgender will also be made a part of the training program in the second phase.’

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