Laxmi Jadhav, a 41-year-old woman from Mulund is going to be the first woman to operate a BEST bus since the transport corporation was established in 1926. Jadhav was hired by lease operator Mateshwari Urban Transport Solutions Pvt. Ltd., which runs 400 buses for the corporation. As Laxmi undergoes intensive training, two other women have also been hired to drive the buses.
“It is going to be a historic occasion as a woman, for the first time, will be behind the wheel of a BEST bus. A total of three women drivers have been selected but the first one to operate the bus will be Laxmi Jadhav,” said BEST general manager Lokesh Chandra to the media.
“We have around 90 women conductors who have been doing a fantastic job. BEST general manager Lokesh Chandra had also suggested that we recruit women drivers. We too wanted to do our bit in taking the idea of women empowerment forward by recruiting them,” Rishi Tak of MUTSP added.
The women underwent training and Laxmi has almost completed it for which she is receiving the permit first.
Laxmi’s knack for driving
Jadhav was always attracted to driving. It was a knack she picked in her childhood. To fulfill her wish she worked at a travel agency to learn to drive several high-end cars.
She is also the first woman to get a permit to ride an autorickshaw from Wadala RTO in 2016.
“I was the first woman to get a permit to ride an autorickshaw from Wadala RTO in 2016. I have been attracted to the driving profession right from childhood. I used to do odd jobs with a travel agency where I learned to drive vehicles like BMW and Mercedes,” Jadhav said.
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For her feats, Laxmi gives all credit to her husband, and supportive family.
“I have always received whole-hearted support. My elder son is studying engineering while my younger one is pursuing graduation in the commerce stream,” she shared.
Jadhav had an idea beforehand that there are no women drivers in BEST and hence decided to learn bus driving by enrolling for the course at the Dindoshi depot and got the license in 2019.
“I thought of driving BEST buses as it would provide a stable income and a provident fund,” said the would-be female bus driver.
More female-heavy vehicle drivers
Women driving heavy vehicles, and bikes are getting more and more common these days.
About a month ago, a 40-year-old woman named Jelaja Ratheesh drove a lorry with loaded cargo from Kerala to Kashmir. She started her journey from Perumbavoor in Ernakulam district of Kerala on February 2. The female driver was accompanied by her husband Ratheesh PS and a relative Aneesh KS. Jelaja first ferried plywood to Pune and then set off to transport onions to Kashmir. Several videos of Jelaja’s road trip were uploaded on a YouTube channel, Puthettu Travel Vlog, where she is seen driving the lorry.