INDIA: The Low Emission Access to Public Transport programme has been launched to enhance last-mile connectivity at Namma Metro stations in Bengaluru and encourage women to become rickshaw drivers.
LEAP is backed by Alstom, Bangalore Metro Rail Corp and charity WRI India. It is managed by MetroRide, a start-up mentored by Alstom under its Sustainability Incubation Programme.
The pilot phase involves 12 electric autorickshaws with women drivers at each of Yelachenahalli station on the Green Line and Indiranagar on the Purple Line, serving passengers within a 4 km radius.
Alstom said women constitute ‘only a fraction’ of metro commuters, and face additional challenges owing to unsafe or inconvenient last-mile connections and ‘chronic’ under-representation in the male-dominated transport workforce.
‘This is a wonderful initiative on many fronts’, said Prof Rajeev Gowda, Vice-Chairman of the State Institute for the Transformation of Karnataka, on February 28. ‘It empowers women to become auto drivers, thus breaking into a male-dominated profession. Electric autos which facilitate public transport move us on the path toward a sustainable future. Let’s empower more women to take the wheel and drive towards a more inclusive and safer Bengaluru.’
