Inclusive roads: New batch of women cab drivers starts training in Delhi

In all, 450 applications received so far for driving lessons

“The desire to get a job is greater than the fear of working at night,” says 22-year-old Kajol Satyaprakash, one of the youngest trainees enrolled at the Institute of Driving and Training Research (IDTR) at Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi. She is part of the Delhi government’s scheme that aims to train 1,000 women as cab drivers within a year.

It is 9 in the morning, and the zig-zag lanes of IDTR are ready to accommodate the second batch of 20 trainee women drivers. The institute in southeast Delhi is spread across 9 acres. Of Delhi government’s three driver-training institutes, the one at Sarai Kale Khan has received the maximum registrations of the 450 application received. In the first batch, which began on August 17, 64 women are being trained to be cab drivers. The other institutes are at Loni and Burari.
 

The women will be trained for 29 hours: 8 for theory, 4 with simulators (virtual 3D experience of ground training) and 17 for practice training.

A driver’s licence test for heavy and light motor vehicles will follow.
 

“I am a fighter like my mother,” says Satyaprakash. It’s her mother who motivated her to register for the training. “She, too, wanted to join the training but decided against it because of her age. But she has promised me that she would accompany me during my night rides.” 

“We plan to train 100 women each month to reach the 1,000 milestone,” says a Delhi government official who does not wish to be named.

The scheme aims to employ women drivers for electric cars. The total estimated cost per trainee is about Rs 8,400 without the Goods and Services Tax. However, IDTR is giving a rebate of Rs 1,400 for the training. The cost of training is divided equally among the Delhi transport department and the cab aggregator. As of now, BluSmart Mobility, a Gurugram-based ride sharing company, is the only aggregator on board.

Among the trainees is Aruna Sharma, a 37-year-old mother of two girls, who works as a janitor in a school in Palam. She has taken a day’s leave to turn up for the training but is worried about the long hours. She cannot afford to let go of her school job but desires to train as a driver to better her lot.

Suman Lata, the 52-year-old trainer, is of the view that the number of days for the training should be increased. Many of these women, she says, have never sat in a driver’s seat before now.

Dreams and worries

Though all who have joined the training want to support their families, the fear of failing the test is their biggest worry.

Sharma, for instance, makes Rs 8,000 a month working at the school. As a driver, she hopes to make almost double that amount – as indicated to her by some people at IDTR.

The number of women trainees has increased by over 60 per cent at Sarai Kale Khan, but it is still dismal compared to men. 

A driver’s job, after all, is seen as a man’s job. Says Shaikh Salauddin, general secretary, Indian Federation of App Based Transport Workers (IFAT), “Customer harassment is high in this sector, especially for women. We need a better grievance redressal mechanism with speedy trials at fast track courts.” He adds, “Male drivers, too, should be given gender sensitisation training.” 

V Saritha, Delhi Transport Corporation’s (DTC’s) first woman driver, says, “Name-calling, non-availability of washrooms, meagre salary and no job security are our biggest challenges.” She adds, “Sometimes we also face harassment and cannot do anything because of poor grievance redressal.”

Saritha works seven hours a day as a contract driver with DTC and earns Rs 16,000 a month. For many of the aspiring women drivers here, she’s a role model they hope to emulate.