Scooter sales boom as more women get behind the wheel
Though the sales of motorbikes are declining due to the tax, scooter sales are scooting up on the contrary
Model and actor Tanha Tania was riding her scooter, waiting for the traffic signals to turn green in the capital's Kawran Bazar intersection.
When she was asked about her reason behind choosing a scooter over bus or taxi, she smiled and said, "I simply cannot stand being stuck in traffic jam for hours. A scooter is more cost-effective than ride-sharing services or a CNG-run auto-rickshaw."
Fed up with the city's seemingly intolerable traffic jam and occasional harassment in overcrowded public transportations, an increasing number of women like Tania are now finding comfort in using scooters. Women scootering through the city's tailbacks is becoming increasingly commonplace.
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Irrespective of their professions, female commuters are now rooting for this light motor vehicle.
Upward trend in scooter sales
Badshah Motors is a scooter showroom in Banglamotor and the owner, Badshah, supervises the business himself. He was glad when he was asked about female customers buying scooters from his store.
He said his business was expanding since scooters for women had become a hit.
"We now sell 15 scooters a month. Previously, three scooters were the maximum per month."
An enthusiastic Badshah said he sells both TVS Wego and TVS Jupiter, the two big names in the scooter market.
The sale of scooters has also picked up at TVS showroom in Moghbazar as more and more women are buying the vehicle.
Officials at the showroom said that TVS Wego had become everyone's favourite for its lightweight body and the digital metre feature.
Md Sirajul, manager of wholesale motorcycle store Nahar Enterprise in Moghbazar, told The Business Standard that his sale of scooters had doubled in the last two years, with monthly sales units reaching 300-350.
He named Hero Pleasure, Hero Maestro and Mahindra as affordable brands with a price range starting from Tk1.2 lakh to Tk1.3 lakh. The price range of the fancier brand, Yamaha, starts from Tk1.75 lakh.
Sirajul said the introduction of different ride-sharing services and reductions in VAT on imported parts have led to the increase in scooter sales.
Managers of different showrooms said most of the women purchasing scooters are employees and students who need to regularly move around the city.
Wind of change?
Nahid Tonmoy is a businesswoman who stopped using public transportations after facing a series of harassments on bus. She finally got a scooter in 2015.
Now she is happy as it saves her time. It is also saving her from any potential harassment in public places.
Nobonita Roy, a marketing official at Xiaomi Bangladesh, has never been fond of taking buses either. To make her life easier, she bought a scooter in 2017. Since then, she has been moving around independently.
Nobonita finds it empowering that she no longer has to wait in traffic jam for hours and that she can travel around the city the way she wants to.
Shahanaz Akter, an Uber driver with a scooter, has been earning enough to support her family by offering the ride-sharing service.
Riding scooters have become a language of resistance for women against many inconveniences and pitfalls. It is a language they are using to deal with the prevailing adversities they face on the roads.
