UMI 2026: Commitment meets courage-Odisha’s women steer a new future

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Bhubaneswar: An administrator working to open doors. A woman with the courage to drive through them. When Usha Padhee, Additional Chief Secretary, Housing & Urban Development Department, met Subhalaxmi Mahananda, Odisha’s first woman electric-bus driver from Keonjhar district, the moment captured the human spirit behind Odisha’s mobility transformation.

The photograph captures something more meaningful than a policy outcome: the meeting of an administrator who worked to create opportunities for women and a woman driver who had the courage to step forward and seize that opportunity. It is an image of commitment meeting courage—and a powerful inspiration for generations to come.

Their meeting came as Odisha successfully hosted the 19th Urban Mobility India (UMI) Conference and Exhibition and the 2nd National Urban Conclave (NUC) in Bhubaneswar during October 23–25, 2026. With UMI being held in Eastern India for the first time, the events brought national attention to Odisha’s aspirations for accessible transport, inclusive growth and more liveable cities.

From Keonjhar to the driver’s seat of an electric Ama Bus, Subhalaxmi’s journey gives these aspirations a human face. For a young girl watching her navigate the streets, a new career becomes imaginable. Every journey she undertakes carries a message beyond its destination: women can shape and lead the services that keep cities moving.

Usha Padhee initiated AMA SuVAHAK in the Commerce & Transport Department, creating a ripple effect by opening new pathways for women in mobility and inspiring more women to take up professional driving. She also introduced driving training for women in CRUT, where the growing number of women drivers reflects how sustained institutional support can turn opportunity into confidence, livelihoods and inspiration for generations to come.

This progress draws strength from institutional teamwork, with support from the Principal Secretary, Commerce & Transport Department, the Transport Commissioner and the Managing Director of CRUT. Their support across policy, training, livelihood opportunities and transport operations helps create the conditions in which women can enter the profession, build confidence and progress.

CRUT’s efforts to expand women’s participation have included advanced electric-bus training for 20 women holding Heavy Motor Vehicle licences. Women serving as drivers, conductors and feeder-service personnel bring inclusion into the everyday experience of public transport. Their presence makes women’s professional capability visible to thousands of commuters and encourages others to consider careers in mobility.

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The wider ambition finds expression in Atmanirbhar MAhila SuVahak—AMA SuVahak, which envisages creating 2,450 women-led transport enterprises across Odisha. Its provisions include interest-free loan support of up to ₹10 lakh for vehicle purchase, an additional ₹2 lakh incentive for electric vehicles, and free driving and entrepreneurship training with licensing support. Priority support for SHG members and eligible women beneficiaries, alongside integration with ride-hailing platforms, seeks to connect skills and vehicle ownership with earning opportunities. The initiative offers women a pathway towards becoming transport entrepreneurs.

These opportunities are emerging within an expanding public transport system. CRUT has grown from a single-city operation to a network of 770 buses across 138 routes, with electric buses accounting for 51 per cent of its fleet. Nearly 48 per cent of ticketing transactions are cashless, reflecting the growing use of digital payments and passenger services.

At UMI 2026, the CRUT pavilion showcased this transformation through Ama Bus, electric mobility, Odisha Yatri, intelligent transport management, digital ticketing, safety and accessibility initiatives. CRUT also supported the planning, coordination and execution of the event, helping Odisha share its mobility experience with a national audience.

Guided by the theme “Urban Accessibility and Liveability in the Digital Age,” UMI explored how transport can bring opportunity closer to people. Alongside NUC, it connected discussions on mobility with the broader ambition of building inclusive, sustainable and future-ready cities.

The meeting between Usha Padhee and Subhalaxmi brought that ambition into focus. Behind a woman taking the wheel lies an opportunity created, a skill developed, institutional encouragement and a courageous decision to begin. Ahead of her lies the possibility that many more will follow.

As Odisha moves forward, commitment is opening pathways, courage is carrying the journey ahead, and a generation of girls can begin to picture themselves at the wheel.

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