Oct 30 2025 to Oct 30 2025 6:30 p.m.

EVENT HAS ENDED

Where

Bangalore International Centre

7 4th Main Rd, Stage 2, Domlur 560071

Event Description

Bengaluru Bus Stories is a panel discussion on urban mobility, public transport, and the lived experiences of commuters in the city. Drawing from the ongoing research initiative EQUIMOB, a collaboration between the Institute for Social and Economic Change (Bengaluru), Utrecht University (Netherlands), Bangalore Bus Prayaanikara Vedike (BBPV), and SAMVADA, the conversation will explore how buses shape daily life, build connections, and remain vital to the city’s social fabric.

Moderated by Dr. Ranjana Raghunathan, Assistant Professor at Vidyashilp University, the panel brings together four collaborators from the project to reflect on their work with commuters and stakeholders, and to consider how Bengaluru’s bus system can be reimagined with greater care, attention, and inclusivity.

Speakers

Shaheen Shasa Urban Mobility Activist, Bengaluru Bus Prayanikara Vedike Shaheen

Shasa is an urban mobility activist based in Bengaluru and a founding member of Bengaluru Bus Prayanikara Vedike (BBPV), a bus commuters’ rights forum. She has been especially active in advocating for fare equity, gendered access to transport, and improvements in connectivity, frequency, and accessibility in public bus services. Shaheen has also spoken against mobility infrastructure projects that prioritize private vehicles over public transit, calling instead for planning that centers buses, inclusive routes, and commuter-friendly services.

Sobin George Associate Prof, Institute for Social & Economic Change

Sobin George holds a PhD from Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. His areas of research and writings cover Marginalities, Social Gradients of Health, Medical Industry and Labour Rights

Prajwal Nagesh Assistant Prof. MIDS, Chennai Dr.

Prajwal Nagesh is a sociologist specializing in urban inequalities, transport equity, and ageing. He holds a Ph.D. in Human Geography and Spatial Planning from Utrecht University, Netherlands. His doctoral research, titled Moving Together: Equitable Access to Mobility Infrastructure for Older Adults in Bengaluru, explores urban transport inequalities in the Global South through the lens of ageing. At MIDS, Dr. Nagesh’s research focuses on the political economy of urbanisation, urban transport and mobilities, sociology of food, caste studies, and qualitative research methods, including ethnography.

Ranjana Raghunathan Assistant Prof., Vidyashilp University

Ranjana Raghunathan is an anthropologist and Assistant Professor in the School of Liberal Arts at Vidyashilp University, Bangalore. Her research focuses on Bangalore’s neighbourhood histories and the narratives of urban development. At Vidyashilp University, she established an Ethnography Lab to foster collaboration and dialogue through ethnographic research and writing among academics and the broader community.