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The need to make infrastructure conducive for women is not limited only to the workplace; intercity mobility needs one too. Women had to limit their travel mode choices to trains and flights, hence creating constraints around travel budgets, longer planning windows, and avoiding overnight travel. These constraints often become a reason for gender bias while hiring for specific roles in the organisation.

The introduction of mobility technology in inter-city buses along with the emergence of organised and branded players is transforming this entire ecosystem. Manish Rathi, CEO and Cofounder, IntrCity said, "Female travellers' adoption of organised and branded buses has already seen an increase, with a country-wide average of 8-10 per cent earlier is now at 15-18 per cent, with weekend schedules on routes like Bangalore-Chennai-Bangalore and Chennai-Hyderabad-Chennai seeing 35-40 per cent female passengers. Female travellers are a diverse group of professionals who travel for jobs; travel to visit their parents on weekends; as well as travel to leisure destinations."

Technology with better Hygiene & Sanitation Is Reshaping Intercity Bus Travel for Women

Traditional intercity bus travel has been revamped with the help of branded players entering the market. Branded players' sole aim has always been to identify and address the unidentified needs and problems of female travellers during a bus journey. They have reincarnated traditional bus travel using cutting-edge technology and making it more safe, secure, and comfortable than before. These buses have well-defined hygiene & sanitisation protocols besides onboard washroom facilities.

The traditional intercity bus has been upgraded into SmartBus by incorporating IoT (Internet of Things) technologies. SmartBus provides a comprehensive experience for all female passengers' basic needs around safety, reliability and punctuality. This includes all buses equipped with Wi-Fi connectivity, automatic passenger information systems, CCTV cameras, GPS, in-app wakeup alarm, and an AI-enabled driver alert system, along with SmartBus Captain travelling in these buses. The bus body design has been modified to fit a onboard washroom which is a boon for female travellers.

Reliability: IoT-enabled mobile apps assist smart buses in calculating scheduling and departure locations. The smart bus would offer a live-tracking feature where passengers, their families, and friends could view real-time locations and travel status.

Safety: Improving safety parameters is the core focus of the smart bus. Monitoring and managing each bus journey and staying connected with the driver's interface in the bus, the crew app, and the consumer app, being equipped with cameras and sensors is a plus for female passengers.

Punctuality: The core of intercity travel is punctuality and comfort. With the support of well-organized systems and procedures, these smart buses now provide on-time and pleasant travel by constantly monitoring timelines, traffic, and on-time arrivals.

The Smart Bus is Safe for Female Travelers

Today's smart buses provide a variety of services for a more comfortable travel experience. The most important features and major incentives for female travellers to use branded intercity buses would be onboard washrooms, secured boarding, hygienic & sanitised buses, and safe boarding lounges. The booking pattern has revealed that seats in buses with onboard washrooms tend to be reserved faster than seats in regular buses without the washroom facility.

Branded bus players ensure that female traveller are not exposed to situations that could jeopardise their safety. Clean and well-lit boarding facilities that provide ample comfortable seating space and basic amenities like clean drinking water, coffee, and clean washrooms.

Experts believe that this industry is positioned for expansion, given India's developing highway expansion.