Namma Raste panel calls for gender-responsive mobility

Bengaluru: On the third and final day of Namma Raste, an exhibition and conference on mobility — a panel on Gender Responsive Mobility — expanded on how to make public and urban transport infrastructure accessible and more inclusive.

The session featured Prabhakar Reddy, Chief Traffic Manager Operations, Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), and Anne Jacob, Chief Urban Designer and Senior Urban Planner Directorate of Urban Land Transport.

BMTC operates approximately 5,800 daily bus schedules with a fleet of 6,500 buses, including 1,348 electric buses. Women comprise 55% (21 lakh of 50 lakh) of BMTC’s daily ridership, attributed largely to the government’s free bus travel scheme.

A gender sensitisation program for BMTC staff including training for drivers and conductors has been implemented to promote inclusivity. Prabhakar Reddy also said that the BMTC has a reward and punishment program for all of its drivers and conductors (23,000 in all), wherein good behaviour is rewarded and recognised and bad behaviour is admonished and dealt with in the necessary manner. 

Jacob mentioned that DULT has mandated certain large bus stations to include features like family toilets, nursing rooms and waiting areas. Speaking on the need for family toilets, Jacob mentioned that she could only be accompanied into the male toilet with her grandfather.

“As a three-year-old girl, I found it extremely embarrassing to enter toilets filled with other men,” she added. DULT is also setting up The Gender Lab for Transit Interventions (GELATI), which undertake a comprehensive approach to identifying gender specific issues in urban mobility.

The conference, organised by the BBMP and World Research Institute (WRI) India, also featured 10-minute presentations followed by a roundtable discussion involving various citizen and activist groups and a BMTC-themed quiz as well.

To make the event more accessible, Namma Raste partnered with Association of People with Disability (APD) and Ramaiah College of Law. Jacob Kurian, Honorary Secretary, APD said, “Accessibility is not an afterthought—it is a fundamental right. Through our collaboration with BBMP and WRI India, APD has ensured that Namma Raste 2025 is truly inclusive.” Ramaiah College of Law provided the sign language interpreter for the event.