In a city where the roads are mostly seen congested with traffic during its waking hours, travelling by a bike seems to be a fast and easy way to get around town and reach destinations timely. Although bike riding has predominantly been viewed as a task for men, women are gradually joining the journey. Bike riding not only enhances the ease of travelling for females by saving commute time, but it also eliminates the trouble of travelling via public transport to some extent. 

However, with such eagerness and willingness of the female populace to learn bike riding, does sufficient mechanism and infrastructure exist in our country to make female drivers ready for the road?   

Navigating along the streets on a two-wheeler can be risky, especially in a country that lacks adequate road infrastructure. Thus, it is necessary that riders are well-trained and equipped with appropriate knowledge and experience to drive on the roads.

Taking this issue into consideration, ACI Motors-YAMAHA Riding Academy was initiated in 2017 as the first training academy in the country. It is a training institution that initially offered training to females only who are interested in bike riding, as there are not sufficient training facilities for the women in our country.

"Riding a motorcycle is seen as a necessity, especially in Dhaka, as public transport is not women-friendly, but women do not have sufficient scope to learn. If we want to make this economy more vibrant, then we have to allow more females into the economy," remarked Subrata Ranjan Das, Executive Director at ACI Motors Limited. 

With this notion in mind, Yamaha Riding Academy (YRA) enables women to travel independently at ease. Afsana Tilka, a YRA Trainer in Dhaka, said, "Through Yamaha Riding Academy, women are able to avoid travelling via public transport, and riding our own transport is definitely safer for us."  

Since its inception, over 4000 people have been trained in a span of more than 100 batches, where each batch contains four classes. In Dhaka, two classes are conducted weekly in Tejgaon B G Press Field every weekend, where along with providing training for bike riding, the trainees are taught about crucial safety and traffic laws and regulations.

For a comfortable training experience, females are taught by female trainers and vice versa, by a total of 20 trainers all over Bangladesh, who are well trained by Japanese trainers. Along with these, learners receive support in acquiring a learner's license through this institution.  

Recently, the academy has initiated "Speed Girl Riding Trainer Hunt" via which it aims to spread its reach across all 64 districts of Bangladesh. Through this program, ACI Motors provided a Yamaha Ray ZR Street Rally Scooter for the trainers at a discounted price, along with necessary safety gear.

This has contributed towards the development of our economy on many levels. Chandrika Mondal, a Speed Girl Riding Trainer from Pirajpur, stated, "There are many women in rural areas who want to learn but did not have a medium. But now, I have trained students, service holders, and housewives who are taking their children to school. It has vastly helped in progressing our society."   

Keeping economic and societal aspects aside, the outcome of the program has ignited inspiration for many women as well. "I take inspiration from my trainees when I see they are learning to avoid switching several buses to travel for work, or when I see elderly women driving their children to school. These are true sources of inspiration for me," shared Takia Sultana Nova, a Speed Girl Riding Trainer in Chattogram.

Apart from that, ACI Motors-YAMAHA provides support to female riders when they want to travel across the country, giving necessary aid to the riders' community. As we make progressive strides towards breaking the bias every day, ACI Motors Yamaha makes considerable contribution in social work by distributing blankets to the destitute, celebrating Chocolate Day with street children and empowering the female population of our country.

By Fariha Amber