Saritha: Delhi’s first woman bus driver.

DPA/New Delhi

The newly-appointed first woman bus driver in the Indian capital, Vankadarath Saritha, 30, said yesterday she would look out for the safety of other females on her bus - and that she wanted to be seen as an example of women’s empowerment.
Delhi has been in the spotlight with incidents of violence against women using transport. These included the gang-rape of a 23-year-old woman on a moving bus in December 2012 - and her subsequent death - and the rape of a woman passenger in a radio cab in December 2014.
Saritha’s appointment by the state-run Delhi Transport Corp (DTC) was part of an effort by the local government to be gender inclusive and to help women from financially weak backgrounds, Delhi’s Transport Minister Gopal Rai said.
“Steps like these will help to make women more secure and confident,” Rai said.
Despite widespread advertising only seven candidates applied for the job to be Delhi’s first woman driver. Five were shortlisted and Saritha was chosen after a final round of tests, DTC spokesman R S Minhas said.
While plenty of women can be seen driving their own cars in the Indian capital, very few drive commercial vehicles.
Saritha, who comes from a poor family of farmers from Telangana, has already driven an auto-rickshaw and a bus in Hyderabad.
Before she got the coveted government job, she worked as a taxi driver and then a chauffeur with a family in Delhi.
“I drove a BMW,” she said proudly.
Saritha started after four weeks of training and her first day of driving on Monday was uneventful, she said.
“I did get some attention, but mostly it was positive remarks as people found it unusual,” said Saritha, who looks smart with her short cropped hair and new uniform.
“The image of DTC bus drivers is not good but I will keep all driving rules in mind and be especially careful about the safety of women who board my bus,” she said.