Thane Municipal Transport to hire 541 women conductors

Thane: Thane Municipal Transport (TMT) needs 1,640 conductors to run the 390 electric and CNG buses joining its fleet, and plans to appoint 541 of them from among women. The conductors will be hired on contract, and a proposal seeking approval for the tender has been placed before the municipal general body.

Once the new buses arrive, TMT's fleet will grow to 797 buses. The Wagle depot is to get 100 CNG buses and 20 electric double-decker buses, while electric buses will also go to the Kolshet, Kalwa and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj depots. Contractors will run and maintain the buses, set up charging stations and supply drivers, but providing conductors remains TMT's responsibility.

Women will fill 33 per cent of the posts, or 541, and separate tenders will be floated for women and men conductors. Including minimum wages, allowances, the contractor's administrative charges and 18 per cent GST, each conductor is expected to cost about ₹32,953 a month. For the women conductors this works out to about ₹64.18 crore over three years, or roughly ₹21.39 crore a year.

The administration said conductors would be appointed in step with the new buses entering service.

Source: Esakal