Reserved Bus Seats for Transgender Persons in West Bengal

In a welcome move, two seats will now be reserved for transgender person in buses in West Bengal. Joint Council of Bus Syndicate, a private bus owners association in West Bengal, has announced that all the buses affiliated with their union will ear-mark two seats for Transgender people. The seats will be marked as ‘Tridhara’.

Tapan Banerjee, the General Secretary of the Syndicate, said in an interview to Deccan Herald, “There are more than 35,000-40,000 buses affiliated with the Union”. One can hope that more buses join the union making accessibility to public transport easier for a transgender person.

Banerjee added, "It is not just about earmarking two seats but to recognise transgender people and create awareness among commuters to treat them as equals”.

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Move in the Right Direction?

While this is being hailed as a great move and being looked upon as a step in the right direction, the question remains what does this actually mean for the transgender community? Manabi Bandopadhyay, transwoman and Principal of Krishnanagar Woman’s College said to SheThePeople, “We are marginalised even with the marginalised communities. So we not only want reservation in buses and public transport we need reservation in State and Central Government jobs”.

Bandopadhyay’s comment sheds light upon how minor victories are worth celebrating but there are still some major battles that need to be won. Transgender people are still absent from spaces of employment and education because of the various barriers to access. The reservation of us seats removes one barrier of access, which is access to public transport. However, what times will tell is how the Transgender person will be treated when they board a public transport and the treatment they receive from the public at large.

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Why It Matters?

All victories, big and small, matter in the fight for equality. Public spaces that have traditionally excluded transgender people or only allowed them spaces at the fringes can be scary place. However, making public spaces and public transport accessible is a move towards ensuring Transgender people have access to the city and to public transports.

PriyankaChakrabarty is an intern for SheThePeople

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