Can Pink Buses Transform Women’s Public Transit?

Every morning, commuting to work or college in our cities is a nightmare. The roads are packed with traffic, noise and smoke, while women face additional challenges. Crowded buses, unwanted touching and the struggle to find a place to stand are part of daily life for many female commuters in Dhaka and Chattogram. Public transport in Bangladesh has long been far from women-friendly.

In the middle of all this hassle, a few bright pink buses are now running on the roads. When you see one pass by, it looks totally different from the usual battered buses. What makes it special is simple: the driver is a woman, the conductor is a woman, and every single passenger inside is a woman. For female commuters, stepping onto such a bus feels like a breath of fresh air. But the real question is whether this new service will actually fix the bigger problem or just remain a small, short-term project.

The Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) recently started this special Pink Bus service for women. The government launched it as part of its new 180-day action plan. The main idea behind this step is to make daily travel safer for female commuters and help more women move around the city without feeling scared or uncomfortable.

Right now, 14 pink buses are running across 13 main routes in Dhaka, Chattogram and Bogura. Of these, 10 buses operate in Dhaka on busy routes such as Motijheel, Mirpur, Abdullahpur, Demra and Mohammadpur. Chattogram and Bogura have two buses each. These buses come with basic modern features such as CCTV cameras, digital ticket machines, GPS tracking and even trial Wi-Fi. Officials say they plan to introduce 50 more buses soon, including new electric buses dedicated to female passengers.

After the buses hit the roads, local reporters talked to women using the service. Most of them had good things to say about how safe they felt inside. More than 90 per cent of the women interviewed said they felt completely relaxed because there was no risk of harassment or unwanted physical contact. Working women and young university students mentioned that getting a guaranteed seat in the morning saves them from a huge amount of daily stress.

At the same time, passengers pointed out a major problem: there are simply not enough buses. In a huge city like Dhaka, 10 buses are almost invisible. Women explained that if they miss one Pink Bus at a stop, they might have to wait an hour or two for the next one. During morning rush hours, nobody has that much time to waste. As a result, most women end up taking regular overcrowded buses again.

Operating this service comes with real practical difficulties. First, the gap between demand and supply is massive. Hundreds of thousands of women travel across Dhaka every day, so a handful of buses cannot solve the overall crisis. Second, severe traffic congestion disrupts the timetable. Even if a bus starts on time, it can get stuck in traffic like every other vehicle, making fixed schedules almost impossible to maintain.

Another big challenge is finding enough trained female drivers. Driving large buses in heavy traffic is a tough job, and very few women in Bangladesh currently have heavy-vehicle driving licences. On top of that, people remember that Bangladesh tried running women-only buses in the past. Those earlier initiatives failed after a few years because of poor maintenance, lack of planning and financial losses. People naturally worry that the same thing might happen to these pink buses if authorities lose interest after a few months.

If the government wants this project to succeed in the long term, it needs to take a few practical steps right away. First, it must bring in more buses so that passengers can get one every 15 to 20 minutes during peak hours. Second, BRTC should run proper driving training centres specifically for women so that it can build a steady team of female drivers and mechanics over time.

The authorities should also develop a basic mobile app through which passengers can track bus locations in real time. That way, women will not have to stand at unsafe bus stops for hours while waiting without knowing when the next bus will arrive. Proper lighting and security guards at key bus stops would also help greatly. Finally, supervisors must regularly check to ensure that drivers do not pick up male passengers or skip assigned routes.

A country cannot really move forward if half of its population struggles just to travel safely to work or school. The Pink Bus is definitely a good initiative, and it gives women a safer choice on the road right now. But creating a few safe buses for women should only be the first step. The main goal must be to make every regular bus on the road safe, clean and respectful for everyone. A woman should be able to get on any public bus without feeling nervous. If the government handles this project with proper funding and good management, it could finally help transform the entire transport system for the better.