PATNA, Aug. 12 -- Fifty of the 400 PM e-buses being inducted into the Bihar State Road Transport Corporation's (BSRTC) fleet this financial year would be deployed as 'pink buses', said its administrator Atul Verma, as an impact assessment study, released in Patna on Tuesday, showed the women-only bus service had become a trusted lifeline for female commuters across Patna, Muzaffarpur and Gaya. The study - based on surveys of 109 women commuters, five focus group discussions with 36 women conductors, and interviews with nodal officers and BSRTC's administrator - found that 93% of women surveyed picked the pink bus specifically for safety, and the service scored a satisfaction rating of 4.6 out of 5. Around 95% said they preferred it over other travel options, revealed the study, conducted by MicroSave Consulting (MSC), on behalf of the transport department and the BSRTC. Yet daily usage lags far behind demand. In Patna, while half of women commute daily, only 17% use the pink bus regularly, and just 22% said the bus timings fully matched their travel needs. Nearly half of commuters said they did not know bus schedules. Irregular timings (39%) and limited route coverage (21%) emerged as biggest barriers. Students (47%) and salaried women (35%) make up the bulk of riders, with education and work travel together accounting for 78% of all pink bus trips. Sixty per cent women reported lower travel costs after switching from autos and e-rickshaws, translating to a 28-35% cut in daily commuting expenses, while 56% said they felt more confident travelling independently - a shift that has nudged 27-31% of families to become more willing to let women travel alone. The need now is for an all-women crew to run the pink buses to build on women safety comfort. The BSRTC has identified 21 women drivers but has presently enrolled six such drivers and 120 conductors. The remaining are awaiting their driving licence after having undergone almost year-long training. For many, including Ragini Kumari - Bihar's first Pink Bus driver, who grew up in Punpun where girls were expected to prioritise marriage - the job has meant economic independence, dignity and a very public break from convention, said the report. However, the study also flagged real strain: 12-13 hour workdays, delayed salaries, inconsistent duty rosters, limited washroom access at depots, and instances of harassment and gender-stereotyping from the public. The report called for structured awareness campaigns, real-time bus tracking, digital passenger information, timely salary disbursal, formal grievance redressal mechanisms, mandatory POSH (prevention of sexual harassment) training for depot staff and drivers, and the need for a creche for children of women staff....