BoardTheBus: Making a Breakthrough in Reclaiming Public Spaces for Women
In a nation where women make most off-peak hour trips, how can we raise awareness about public transport for their safety and ease?
India ranked as the most dangerous country for women in a 2018 survey, with public transport being an area of major concern for their well-being. Only a decade prior, we had worked on an awareness campaign to bring this issue to light.
🇳🇱 Most Innovative Campaign
Award for Women’s Day
2000+
Active Campaign Participants
17MN
Impression metric
According to a 2018 survey by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, India was ranked as the most dangerous country for women. As part of the survey, respondents were asked which five of 193 United Nations member states they believed were the most dangerous for women, as well as which country had the worst health care, economic resources, traditional practices, sexual violence, harassment, non-sexual violence, or human trafficking conditions. Public transportation is often cited as one of the areas where women feel most vulnerable.
The public transport system in India was designed with male commuters in mind, but it is unreliable during off-peak hours (1 PM—3 PM) when women make the majority of their trips. Consequently, they often end up using informal or private modes of transportation such as autorickshaws, which are more expensive.
Over a decade ago, Breakthrough, a non-profit organization that works with 1.5 million adolescents in schools and communities to challenge gender norms and belief systems, sought to spread awareness around this crisis.
For Women’s Day, Breakthrough approached Sparklin to create a digital campaign focused on women’s safety in Indian public transport.
The Challenge
The challenge emerged from the urgent need for awareness around women's safety, especially following the Nirbhaya case in 2012, which had shaken the country to its core. Our primary goal was to raise maximum awareness about women’s safety in public transport within a tight campaign runtime of 15 days.
Research, Brand Strategy, Personal Interviews, Marketing Campaign, Awareness Strategy
Our Solution
We reached out to women from various walks of life, in hopes of conducting in-depth research and personal interviews. This was the first step towards understanding their lived experiences, grievances, and daily interaction with public transportation. Alongside these interviews, the team documented substantial data on women’s safety and existing measures. This data was integral in creating a solid foundation for the campaign's messaging and strategy.
To make the most of the limited time we had, the team created an awareness-firstapproach that brought people together through social sharing (#BoardTheBus), interactive games, and engaging quizzes. This also inspired meaningful participation from everyone involved.
The concept of Board the Bus was drafted in just 30 minutes. It centered on the idea of “reclaiming public space” for women. The plan involved a week-long action along one Delhi bus route.
Participants were asked to: 1. 'Board' a designated public bus. 2. Take a selfie. 3. Share the photo on social media for their friends, family, and others to see and spread the word.
In collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, the organizers developed an online game and an interactive voice response system (IVRS) to engage and inform mobile phone users. The IVRS provided event details and collected personal stories, with over 2,100 people using it during the campaign. As the organizers of Board the Bus, we recognized our limited time and resources. Every available channel was used to spread the word and engage people in sharing the message.
The Outcome
150MN
Children Empowered
$100MN
Annual Revenue Reached
The impact of our collective effort exceeded initial expectations. Through this campaign, Breakthrough established a partnership with the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS) Ltd., a joint venture between the Governmentof NCT of Delhi and the IDFC Foundation focused on urban transportation. DIMTS provided them with two orange buses for the campaign, which also featured in the final event on 8th March, 2024.
On March 8th, over 300 people directly participated in the Board the Bus action by actually boarding the bus.
We aspired to inspire more people to feel secure taking buses as they saw others participating throughout the week. Going by the ground numbers alone won't paint the full picture of the impact.
Here's a breakdown of the campaign's reach within 90 days:
2,800
Video views
1 lakh +
Social interactions
3MN
Facebook users
2,100
IVR calls
91,000
Twitter users
7,800
Onboard users
2,120
Delhi participants
91,000
Twitter users
2,800
Video views
2,100
IVR calls
3MN
Facebook users
1 lakh +
Social interactions
7,800
Onboard users
2,120
Delhi participants
To our utmost delight, #BoardTheBus garnered over 1.7 million impressions in less than 15 days. It went on to earn prestigious accolades, including global recognition as the most innovative Women’s Day campaign in the Netherlands.
