A nationwide study has raised serious concerns about the lack of gender inclusivity in India’s public bus systems, both in terms of women’s workforce participation and the everyday challenges faced by women commuters.
The report, Gender Inclusivity in India’s Public Transport, was released in November by ITDP India and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH under the Indo-German development project Sustainable Urban Mobility – Air Quality, Climate Action, Accessibility (SUM-ACA), commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
Women make up only 0.16 per cent of bus drivers
Using data from the Association of State Road Transport Undertakings (ASRTU), the report shows that women account for just 0.16 per cent of driver positions and 15 per cent of conductor roles across the country.
Women staff reported multiple barriers, inadequate toilets and resting spaces in depots, workplace harassment, and long shifts with significant health risks.
To understand workplace realities, ITDP India conducted Focus Group Discussions in Pune, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Delhi, involving 74 women staff from State Transport Undertakings (STUs). Women staffers highlighted a lack of clean toilets, gender-specific facilities, and safe rest zones. Harassment from passengers and insensitive behaviour from male colleagues were also common concerns.
The study also draws on gender-disaggregated data from the recently concluded Transport4All Challenge, held across 46 cities.
More than 2 lakh people, including 78,000 women, shared their experiences of public transport through structured surveys.
Key issues flagged by women commuters include:
Thirty per cent faced harassment or theft in and around buses
Forty-one per cent complained of overcrowding, leading to discomfort and safety concerns
Thirty-two per cent cited delays and unreliable services
Twenty-four per cent said they would shift to public transport if safety and comfort improved
Manjunath Sekhar, director, Sustainable Urban Mobility at GIZ India, said the findings emphasise that gender inclusivity must become “central to building safe, equitable, and future-ready mobility systems.”
Aswathy Dilip, managing director of ITDP India, pointed out that women are already the majority users of public transport.
“This alone should push agencies to improve services for women commuters and increase women’s participation in operations,” she said.
Seven key recommendations
The report outlines actionable steps for STUs and national-level agencies, including:
Ensuring 50 per cent women’s participation across workforce categories
Dedicated anti-discrimination and anti-harassment mechanisms
Uniform lighting standards (30–40 lux) at depots, terminals, and stops
Adequate availability of buses (40–60 per lakh population)
At least 50 per cent low-floor buses for universal accessibility
Gender-sensitisation training for staff and commuters
A call for national-level intervention
The study concludes that gender inclusion must move from being “gender-neutral to gender-responsive” in planning, design, and public transport operations.
Despite being among the highest users of public transport, women remain severely underrepresented in the workforce and continue to face systemic barriers.
ITDP India and GIZ India stress that a coordinated national strategy is essential to address these gaps and create safer, more inclusive mobility systems.