December 14, 2008	Sunday	Zilhaj 15, 1429

PESHAWAR, Dec 13: Women commuters in the provincial metropolis who have to go through much hassle everyday in the public transport will soon have an exclusive bus service.

NWFP Social Welfare and Women Development Department would launch a ‘women bus service’ in Peshawar on Tuesday with the help of district government, Shah Saib, secretary social welfare and women development said.

“The bus service will be started with the help of local transporter on self-finance basis as provincial government does not have resources to launch the service on a larger scale,” the official said.

NWFP Minister for Social Welfare and Women Development Sitara Imran said that provincial government wanted to start women bus service on trial basis as two such attempts in the past failed. She said that initially two CNG-run busses would be plied on route between Haji Camp and Hayatabad to judge public response.

“We are taking a modest start but we hope that women often facing problems in public transport would find some relief by availing this facility,” she added. “In fact I myself would try to travel in the bus some day to find out if the service is any good,” she said.

The conductors of the white-blue coloured busses would be also educated women. The drivers would be male but the female conductor would deal with the women commuters to make their travel comfortable. Each bus would be provided with one policewoman to ensure security of the commuters, official said.

The Regional Transport Authority and district government have issued special route permits to facilitate the local transporter running this special bus service. “The Traffic police and district government have also been requested to ‘cooperate’ with the staff of the women bus service,” official said.

There would be specific bus stops to pick and drop women commuters.

“I would love to travel in a bus with female passengers only as I know how difficult it is to travel with men in a jam-packed bus,” said a working woman, who has to travel between Peshawar City and Saddar area daily.

Officials of social welfare and women development department said that they had hired matriculate women conductors for those buses. The driver’s role would be limited as conductors would deal with the commuters.

The provincial government is also trying to set up a women driving school to get women trained as drivers of heavy transport vehicles.

A CNG bus service for women exclusively was much awaited as females who travel in commercial busses in the city often complain of harassment at the hands of drivers and conductors.

“Most of the public busses and wagons not only are overloaded but the seats reserved for women are also mostly occupied by male commuters leaving women to either stand or sit on inner part of bus engine in a humiliating way,” said Huma, a working woman, who travels in bus every day between Saddar and Hayatabad.