For hours, the pink bus was nowhere to be found.
At Farmgate, in front of the National Parliament building and near Dhanmondi Road 27, repeated attempts to catch Dhaka’s newly introduced women-only bus ended in disappointment.
There was no readily available timetable to indicate when it would arrive or where exactly passengers should wait.
The search eventually led to the Mohammadpur bus depot, where an official provided the crucial information: the bus leaves at 8:40am and makes its return journey from Motijheel around 5:15pm.
On Thursday, the search began again, this time with a destination and departure time in hand.
At 8:25am, several red BRTC double-decker buses were already leaving the Mohammadpur depot. Further inside stood the much-sought-after pink bus.
From a distance, it appeared almost empty.
Three or four women were seated downstairs, with another five or six on the upper deck. The driver had yet to arrive.
Then Irin appeared, dressed in pink, ready to take the wheel of the double-decker.
After completing her checks, she started the engine. As the bus moved forward inside the depot, women began boarding. Within minutes, the once nearly empty vehicle was filling up.
At 8:40am, it finally set off towards Motijheel.
A welcome ride through the city
The journey took the bus through Shankar, Jigatala, City College, New Market, Nilkhet, Palashi, Shaheed Minar, Doel Chattar and the Secretariat before reaching Motijheel.
Near Chhayanaut in Shankar, several women waved for the bus to stop. About five climbed aboard, visibly relieved to have caught it.
Among them was Tamanna Khatun, an employee of Mercantile Bank who has used the service regularly since its introduction.
She said she sometimes misses the bus by just a minute or two. On this morning, she was fortunate.
Her office closes at 5pm, allowing her to catch the return service when her schedule permits.
Further along the route, a woman travelling by rickshaw signalled for the bus. She initially struggled to board, prompting the driver to stop again.
Conductor Ayesha Siddiqui reminded her that attempting to board directly from a moving rickshaw was dangerous and advised her to get down safely before approaching the bus.
At City College, Tanzila, a Southeast Bank employee, joined the passengers.
For her, the service has made commuting considerably easier.
Previously dependent on ordinary local buses, she can now reach her office for just Tk20.
“The biggest advantage is that this bus is exclusively for women. Even if a seat isn’t available, standing doesn’t feel uncomfortable,” she said.
She particularly appreciated having women serving as both driver and conductor.
But her praise came with a reservation: the service operates only one round trip a day.
“If there were two more trips, it would be much more convenient,” she said.
Miss the bus, miss the opportunity
On the upper deck, Lamia, a private-sector employee, described a similar problem.
She has travelled along the Mohammadpur-Motijheel corridor since 2018 and said the bus had previously operated with male drivers before being refurbished and relaunched as the Pink Bus.
Her morning routine involves taking her child to school in Jigatala before boarding the bus for work.
But with only one morning departure, missing it means finding another way to reach the office.
She believes at least two morning services are necessary to make the initiative dependable.
As the bus reached Nilkhet, a few men attempted to board, apparently unaware that it was reserved for women. Female passengers informed them of the restriction.
Passengers began getting off at Shaheed Minar, Doel Chattar and the Secretariat. By Shapla Chattar, the bus was nearly empty.
At approximately 9:30am, it entered the Motijheel depot.
The morning journey had taken about 50 minutes.
Behind the wheel, a different journey
At the depot, Irin finally had time to talk.
Before joining the Pink Bus service, she drove private cars. Handling a double-decker initially seemed daunting, particularly the unfamiliar stopping points and passenger boarding procedures.
“At first, I was uncertain about things like where to stop, what procedures to follow, and where passengers would board,” she said.
“But over the last two months, everything has become quite simple.”
The sight of a woman driving a double-decker initially attracted considerable attention.
Some onlookers expressed surprise that women were now driving such large vehicles.
But Irin said her experience with fellow drivers had largely been positive.
Male drivers often make way for her, sometimes calling out, “Go ahead, ostad.”
Some have even offered her water during journeys.
“I don’t know about others, but I truly enjoy this profession,” she said.
The service has also created opportunities for women conductors such as Ayesha.
Yet the working arrangements present their own challenges.
Drivers and conductors serving routes from Mohammadpur, Mirpur, Jatrabari and Narayanganj arrive at the Motijheel depot around 9:30am and may have to wait until 5pm before their next departure.
Several drivers said rotating duties would allow them to spend more time with their families instead of remaining at the depot throughout the day.
A promising service with room to grow
Passenger numbers also reveal the limitations of the existing schedule.
According to conductor Ayesha, morning ticket sales frequently exceed Tk2,000, while afternoon collections range between Tk600 and Tk800.
Daily sales total approximately Tk3,000, she said.
The difference suggests stronger demand during the morning commute, while the afternoon departure does not suit many passengers’ working hours.
Ayesha said taking the alternative route through Shahbagh could attract another six or seven passengers.
For the women who use it, the Pink Bus represents a welcome change in everyday travel. The women-only environment, female crew and affordable fares offer a degree of comfort that passengers say is often missing from ordinary public transport.
But the journey also exposes a fundamental challenge.
A service designed to make commuting easier remains difficult to find, and a missed departure can mean waiting until the next day.
The pink bus has begun to earn the confidence of its passengers. Making it a dependable part of their daily lives will require more trips, accessible schedules and better coordination with the hours women actually travel.