COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore division of TNSTC comprises Coimbatore, Nilgiris, Tiruppur, and Erode districts, and has 5,873 conductors. The grim fact being only two of them are women, one of whom joined a month ago.
Buela T alias Sumathi from Sungam in Coimbatore has been in service for over a decade, and is TNSTC’s first woman conductor in Coimbatore district. Suganya K, who joined in January 2025 on compassionate grounds after her husband’s death, is the first woman conductor in Nilgiris district. Both are assigned duty from 12.00 pm – 10.45 pm and 5.40 am – 12.00 pm.
Sumathi, a conductor on route 2, initially wanted to join the police force. “I could not join the police force as I had to take care of my child,” said Sumathi, who was among the four women selected for the job in 2014. Of the other three, two have quit and another woman moved to clerical work.
