Research Associate - Project Durga - J-PAL South Asia

Full-time Life Scientists

About the project:

In Bengaluru, women and gender-diverse passengers frequently experience harassment on public buses, which limits their mobility, wellbeing, and access to work and education. The Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has introduced panic alarms and other measures, but evidence on what actually prevents harassment and supports bystanders and bus staff is limited.

Project Durga is a pilot study jointly implemented by J-PAL South Asia and Durga (a Bengaluru-based NGO), in close partnership with BMTC. The project tests a set of low-cost, norm-based and bystander-focused interventions on BMTC buses, including:

Social norm messages and information posters/announcements inside buses

Training for bus drivers and conductors on safe, non-escalatory responses

Clarifying and supporting the use of existing panic button systems

The pilot will assess feasibility, safety, operational practicality, and early signals of ...