An industry-think tank coalition on Friday urged the ministry of housing and urban Affairs (MoHUA) to launch 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 jobs for women.A senior MoHUA official said the ministry would encourage the enrolment of women bus drivers. (Representative Photo/iStock)The report identifies licensing requirements as a key barrier, noting that depending on state regulations, new entrants can take between 16 and 44 months to qualify as public bus drivers. It also recommends revising eligibility norms, incorporating women’s employment targets in public procurement for urban bus services, and improving gender-sensitive infrastructure and workplace policies at bus depots.The central theme of the report was ‘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), thinktanks--the Centre for Sustainable and Equitable Cities and The Urban Catalysts at the Prawaas 5.0 mobility conference in Gandhinagar.The report recommended 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 demand, 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.Also Read:Indian woman shares video of Singapore bus driver stepping off bus to help wheelchair user: ‘Heartwarming’“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. Enabling just 10% of them to upgrade to heavy passenger motor vehicle licences could create a pipeline of more than 45,000 women e-bus drivers. It estimates that training this workforce would require a public investment of ₹99 crore to ₹166 crore, alongside employment and on-the-job training by private operators.