Harbingers Of Change

Two women bus drivers in Navi Mumbai are carving out a unique path for themselves.

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Outside Vashi station, the dark clouds are an indication of showers that could arrive anytime soon. It is an indication of monsoon arriving in this part of the country. It is almost the end of June, and the monsoon, like last year, has been late coming. An effect of global warming perhaps, one would wish the same rain pattern as last year does not repeat itself. Providing much-needed respite from the humidity, the rains unleashed challenges like water logging in low lying areas among others that disrupted normal life. Living up to such challenges, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (NMMT) as the prime public transport undertaking in the region, operating a total of 475 buses on 77 routes with some special services, has been successfully braving the odds. Doing a total route length of 1895 km, the average length being approximate 26 km (with a maximum of 62 km and a minimum of 3 km), and the average headway for all routes being 15 minutes (with maximum of 65 minutes and minimum of 7 to 10 minutes), the undertaking is making a mark by providing an opportunity to two women drivers, Yogita Bhaskar Mane, and Chitra Ramrao Shelke.