Electrification Strategy and Action Plan - A Case of Mehsana

Mehsana Staff Training Program

Mahesana having initiated various transport strategies such as introducing city bus services, free rides for women and differently-abled and employing all women bus conductors, is making commendable strides in urban transport among small cities of similar scale. To support the city in its innovative gender inclusive transport strategies and build capacity among the women transport personnel, the Project Team organized a staff training program for these women personnel of Mahesana bus service under Phase II UKPACT Action Plan project. This initiative was supported by Mehasana Nagarpalika was conducted on December 4, 2022, in their premises. The training attended by around 15  female conductors of Mahesana bus service was delivered by  the project team.

Click for More

The workshop began with an opening address by Mr. Khelan Modi from the project team in which he briefed the importance of the session highlighting their objective to create empathy towards the passengers and enhance the sense of service orientation. The participants were also informed about the previously done workshop in Ahmedabad and the kind of positive response they received. He urged the participants to effectively utilize the training to improve the transport system in the city.

The main aim of the workshop was to sensitize the personnel towards commuter’s requirements. The workshop objectives focused on developing improved sensitivity towards customers vis-à-vis their pain points, enhanced sense of service-orientation and a basic repertoire of responses which indicates empathy towards the customers. The workshop helped participants in fostering empathy for the passengers and their issues,  and to improve their interactions and communications with passengers for an improved travel experience. This in turn is expected to change existing perceptions about public transport, inculcate a sense of safety and security especially for women, help increase ridership and increase operational effectiveness of the public transport system. 

The technical session was divided into 3 modules  consisting of ice breaking session, role plays, case-based discussions. The role plays focused on interactions depicting an everyday scenario of chaos where different travelers would seek different information from the BRTS employees and their manner of response. The role plays involved typical issues encountered by frontline personnel on a regular basis and guidance was provided on how to become aware of style of communication, to think before acting and to list out specific service terms and etiquette. The case discussion session focused on identifying the customers’ problems, elaborating on their assumptions about their mindset along with the experiences of the customer and the employee.

Roleplay from the participants