Lok Sabha Question No. 4382 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-03-20
Subject: Safety of Women in Public Transport
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: H. Vasanthakumar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO 4382

TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.03.2020

## SAFETY OF WOMEN IN PUBLIC TRANSPORT

## 4382. SHRI VASANTHAKUMAR H.:

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) the  challenges/issues  faced  by  women/girls  while  using  public  transport  along with the steps being taken by the Government to overcome such issues;
- (b) whether  the  authorities  have  taken  appropriate  measures  to  ensure  safe  and comfortable public transport for women;
- (c) if so, the details thereof along with the funds allocated in this regard; and
- (d) if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

(a) to (d) : Government of India attaches highest importance to the safety and security of  women  using  the  public  transport  system.  Government  has  taken  a  number  of initiatives in this direction over the past few years.

A notification has been issued under the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 mandating provision of Vehicle Location Tracking (VLT) device and emergency buttons in all Public Service Vehicles  registered  on  or  after  1 st January,  2019  as  measures  to  overcome  the challenges/ issues being faced by women/ girls while using public transport. Timelines for  implementation  of  VLT  and  emergency  buttons  in  vehicles  registered  upto  31 st December, 2018 are to be decided by the State Governments.

The  Empowered  Committee  (EC)  of  officers  constituted  under  Nirbhaya  Fund  has appraised  and  recommended  a  number  of  projects  of  Ministry  of  Home  Affairs  and Ministry  of  Road  Transport  and  Highways  for  funding  under  Nirbhaya  Fund  that  are essentially meant for safety and security of women using public transport system. The details of such projects are as under:

- (i) Abhaya Project of Transport Department, Andhra Pradesh : The proposal  is for  installation  of  Internet  of  Things  (IoT)  device  and  related  software  in public transport vehicles. An amount of Rs.138.49 Crore has been appraised by EC for implementation of the project.
- (ii) Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC), Govt. of Uttar Pradesh : The proposal includes 50 ladies pink Buses, CCTV, Panic buttons and controllers on 12500 buses, 24 Interceptors and Advocacy/ Advertisements/  Awareness  Campaign.  An  amount  of  Rs.83.50  Crore  has been appraised by EC for implementation of the project.
- (iii) Women's Safety Initiative by Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), Govt. of Karnataka : BMTC proposal includes training women for Heavy  passenger  Vehicle  (HPV)  licenses,  advocacy,  advertisement  and awareness  campaign  on  women's  safety,  women  lounges  at  important stations,  CCTV  surveillance  cameras  for  1000  buses,  gender  sensitization and women safety protocol training for ground staff, increase in the number of  Sarathi  Squads/  Mobile  Police  Patrol  Vehicles,  mobile  application  to improve functionalities on women safety and  passenger information display in  bus  stops.  An  amount of Rs.56.06 Crore has been appraised by EC for implementation of the project.
- (iv) Customization, deployment and management of State-wise Vehicle Tracking Platform: The proposal is for customization, deployment and management of State-wise Vehicle Tracking Platform for safety & enforcement with AIS 140 specification. An amount of Rs.465.02 Crore has been appraised by EC for implementation of the project. Guidelines for the same have been finalized and uploaded on the website of Ministry of Road Transport & Highways.
- (v) Emergency Response Support System (ERSS): ERSS is a pan-India, single, internationally recognized number,  i.e. 112 based  system  for various emergencies, with computer aided dispatch of field resources to the location of distress. ERSS has been operationalized in 28 States/UTs. An amount of Rs.321.69  Crore  has  been  appraised  by  EC  for  implementation  of  the project.
- (vi) Safe  City  Projects  : Safe  City  projects  have  been  approved  in  8  cities  in phase I.  Safe City project involves development of critical assets in urban areas including infrastructure,  technology adoption and capacity building in community  through  awareness  programmes.  An  amount  of  Rs.2919.55 Crore has been appraised by EC for implementation of the project.

Ministry  of  Road  Transport  &  Highways  had  also  formulated  a  committee  to formulate  taxi  policy  guidelines  to  promote  urban  mobility.  The  guidelines  were circulated to all the States/UTs vide letter dated 15.12.2016. These guidelines would help provide the States with an overarching, common detailed framework to formulate detailed regulations for taxi operations that are to be followed by Aggregators, Radio Taxi operators and Agents.

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