JOIN USThe Delhi Transport Corporation will soon be hiring women drivers. At present, the corporation has one woman driver, who was recruited last year.
The decision to hire more women drivers was taken in a board meeting on August 2 and the jobs will be advertised soon, said Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) Spokesperson R S Minhas.
The specific number of positions to be opened will not be advertised and it will depend on the applications the DTC receives.
“The applications will be scrutinised and they will be called for the interview. If we get our new buses soon we will recruit them for those otherwise they will be absorbed in the present fleet,” Minhas said.
In a bid to attract more applications, the maximum age limit for female applicants has been increased to 40 years from 35 years for female applicants. Also, according to the rules for their hiring, the women applicants do not necessarily require a Heavy Vehicle Commercial license and will be eligible for the job if they have a Light Motor (Commercial) license.
“We will provide them training for three months and help them in getting a heavy vehicle license. They will be given a stipend during that period,” Minhas said.
The first woman DTC bus driver, identified as V Saritha, currently plies the Route 543 – from Anand Vihar to Safdarjung.
However, no decision was taken on female conductors. The present strength is 245.
The public transporter, on Friday, also successfully conducted a trial run of its common mobility card project, under which the commuters will be able to pay the DTC bus fares with the help of Metro smart card.
The smart card will be swiped in the e-ticketing machines in the DTC buses. More than 70 per cent of the buses have these machines and the project is likely to be completed by October.