Meet V Saritha, Delhi’s first-ever female bus driver

In 2012, V Saritha came to Delhi from Telangana after she read about the Azad Foundation, an NGO that trained women drivers. Earlier, she was driving an auto in the southern state to support her family, including her parents, four sisters, and a brother. Saritha neither knew Hindi nor the routes in Delhi, but she knew how to drive a bus. 

After a few months of training, she was ready to take on Delhi and its roads. However, she had to wait for three years to get behind the DTC wheels. While women take up driving buses as a job, they do not fall under certain eligibility criteria. Finally, in 2015, Sarita was selected from a pool of 10 women applicants for the post of a driver in Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC).

Saritha tells HerStory, “It’s been seven years since I am driving a bus on the busy streets of Delhi as the first and only woman bus driver of DTC. Some days, I feel proud of myself that I am known as the ‘first-ever female bus driver’, some days, I feel disheartened that why more women are not coming forward?” 

Saritha’s day starts from the Sarojini Nagar Depot at 5 am and ends at the same point at 12.30 in the afternoon. At present, she drives DTC buses on the Noida-Delhi route. 

"I am very serious about my job. I have also learned a lot from this city. Now, I like being here. People usually think women are not good drivers. I have proven them wrong, my passengers like my driving skills, and I am often praised by them. They wait to ride on my bus,” she adds.

Saritha drives around 120-130 km every day and gets paid for every kilometre she drives. Despite putting in extra hours, her earnings are not enough to support herself and her family in Telangana.

She says, “I wish my salary could be a little more than what I am getting. Delhi is an expensive city. There are days when I am not feeling well, but I have to go on duty. Women should ideally get three to four days of leaves per month as ‘period leave’. It becomes difficult to drive 130 km when you are in pain and bleeding.”

Sarita has encountered several people who make fun of or laugh at her for being a female bus driver. But now, she has learned to ignore such talks. One day, a lady took her side and said to her fellow male passenger, “If you do not like watching a woman driving a bus, then why don’t you get off?” 

“Some male bus drivers at my depot think I have taken their job. They consider me as their competition. A few have tried convincing me to leave it. But I smile and move forward to do my daily duty. I always make sure no fights, snatching or teasing ever happens on my bus,” Sarita says.

Despite working for seven years, Saritha has not been made a permanent staff member of DTC. She has been awarded many times, but she lacks a better salary, equal representation, and job security. Taking a cue from Saritha, some more women have applied for the driver’s post at DTC, and she could not be happier to welcome more women bus drivers to work and share a meal with her in Delhi.