Hyderabad, March 2, 2020…. Women on Wheels or WoW, the Hyderabad’s first Women for Women Cab Service is announced.
To begin with, four Celerio CNG cars will be rolled out on 8th March at 8 am by Smt Satyavati Rathod, Minister for Women & Child Welfare, Govt of TS.
It is the brainchild of YoDee(Yosha Deedithi Foundation), it is supported by Government of Telangana, Dept of Women Development & Child Welfare. TSRTC, Transport Department, Police, Sultan-Ul-Uloom Education Society, Radission Blu, We Connect, Area 9 Ladies Circle of Round Table India and others.
Four women drivers, D. Sharada, V. Dhanalakshmi, M Soujanya and T. Sharada, out of 36 women who were trained rigorously for well over several months will zoom into the service, announced Jyotsna Angara, Founder of YoDee (Yosha Deedithi Foundation), while addressing a press conference here in the city at Radisson Blu, their hospitality partner.
Mahender Reddy, DGP, Telangana Police; Sunil Sharma, Principal Secretary, Transport, Govt of TS; Andrew Fleming, British Deputy High Commissioner; Swati Lakra, IG, TS Police & Head SHE Teams and D. Divya, Commissioner, Women & Child Welfare, Govt of TS will grace the launch function.
The women drivers besides driving were trained in confidence building, road etiquette, self-defence, trained in a concept called Atithi Devo bhava(the guest is god), First Aid, Small repairs, basic English and Communication Skills, Topography of the city, Google Map Reading etc
The vehicles are financed. Each vehicle costs Rs 5.25lakh. The Women & Child Welfare Department subsidized to the extent of 35% and the government even provided 10% margin money required. On the whole, the beneficiaries got a subsidy of Rs 2.25 lakh. Only women can use this cab service. They can book “women on wheels” cabs through EasyCommute App. their technology partner.
Easy Commute is an intra-city mobile-based AC Bus Shuttle Service to make daily commute easy for working professionals informed Ankit representative from EasyCommute.
To begin with, the service will be initially available during the day time and subsequently, it will be extended for more hours added Jyotsna.
All the four women drivers are in the age group of 28 to 40 years and are married.
Sandeep Joshi, General Manager of Radisson Blu Plaza, who are Venue Partners said, “We are proud to be associated with the launch of Women on Wheels, as it perfectly aligns with the Responsible Business program of Radisson Hotel Group. We, at Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel, offer part-time work options for new mothers and are constantly on a lookout to hire more women employees. We also have women HODs as we believe in gender parity and offer equal work opportunities. By associating with this event as Hospitality partner, we want to send the message that we stand for women safety and empowerment.” he informed.
To add more value to the launch, an all Women’s Car Rally & Treasure Hunt will be held on 8th March in the morning and will be flagged off at Sultan-Ul-Uloom Education Society at Banjara Hills, which will conclude at Radisson Blu.
Treasure Hunt is positioned to create awareness about the service of Women on Wheels and Women’s Safety. Sixty cars are expected to participate.
These four cars are just the beginning. We will roll out another four or even more cars in the second phase in April. Our ultimate goal is to roll out 100 women cars by the end of this financial year, shared Jyotsna.
Giving details about future plans, Jyotsna shared that Sh(e) Autos are on the anvil. These electrical autos again will be by women for women. The details of the same are being worked out and the same will be shared as soon as we are ready to roll out she added. To start with we will roll out 100 autos, she quickly added.
YoDee, means Stree Shakthi. The objective this not for profit entity is to unite women and ideas to support their personal and professional, informed Pinky Singh of YoDee.
Those women who are aspiring to stand on their own may approach YoDee, who will provide entire training free of cost and help them become part of WoW. Such women should be educated at least 7th/8th Class and should have aadhar card and must provide address proof. For more details, women can reach out to YoDee on 7702223405.
