- Where there is a choice, women prefer rail transport - metro or trams.
- The share of female tram drivers is 42% in 2024, while there are almost no women driving buses.
A lady with pink hair, a neat jacket, and a welcoming smile on her face. You probably wouldn't picture this image when thinking about who operates trains in Sofia metro. But here she is: when the train arrives at the Krasno Selo station, her high-heeled boots decisively make their way toward the cabin, and while passengers board, she has already taken control of the train.
Vanya Georgieva is one of two female train drivers in Sofia metroworking side by side with 396 men in this position. This doesn't bother her at all: her grandmother was once a tram driver, and Vanya had long harbored a desire to drive on rails. She realized her dream in 2017, when she joined the municipal company Sofia Electric Transport. She drove the old and then the green, Basel-style trams at first. After a few years, she moved to the metro for better shifts, salary, and working conditions. And she's been doing this for four years now.

"I really like my job, I even think this might be my career forever," she says excitedly. She adds that her colleagues have no prejudices toward her gender, despite the fact that only she and Petya Ruseva are the only women on the team. Ruseva was the first female tram driver hired: she began driving trains on the third metro line on the first working day of 2020, after two years of operating a freight train carrying coal. "For me, it happened almost as a joke: I had worked in a completely different field, in a tailoring company, but at one point I decided I wanted to radically change my life, so I took a course to become a train driver," Ruseva tells the Capital Weekly.

Their presence certainly makes an impression: both of them say that passengers are surprised when they see a "woman driving a metro train", but the reactions are mostly positive. For instance, mothers with small children often greet them and even ask for pictures. "At first, my colleagues might have been a bit skeptical, but now we're equal, I don't feel any difference," says Ruseva.
Their work is important not only for transporting thousands of passengers daily, but also because they set an example for future generations, showing that gender should not be a barrier in any profession. In recent years, the number of women driving public transport vehicles has slightly increased, according to Eurostat data, and this helps break down ingrained stereotypes. However, there are preferences: for instance, women tend to prefer rail transport, where there are fewer conflict situations. Underground, the risk is even lower. Meanwhile, the number of women driving buses is much smaller, both in Bulgaria and across Europe.
Trams first
In Sofia, where both metro and trams operate, women indeed prefer to be tram drivers. Vanya Georgieva, who worked as a tram driver for three years, says that women actually dominate the position. According to data from Sofia Electric Transport, provided to Capital Weekly, in 2024 women make up 42.2% of tram drivers, totaling 168. Over the last five years, this percentage has remained stable, ranging from 40.8% to 41.3%.
"Both the metro and trams have their pros and cons," Georgieva notes. She says that she's had quite a few arguments with passengers on the tram, for example, when they bang the tram and shout that the doors won't open, instead of pressing the button, which is required on the newer green trams. Or they get upset that the tram doesn't stop at a crosswalk, as most people don't know that trams have priority there. But this has never stopped her from loving her job. "I enjoy driving and operating any vehicle. Although the profession involves a lot of responsibility and risks, I have always loved and respected it," she says.

The comfortable metro
The metro attracts her because of the better working conditions, salary, and comfortable shifts. She enrolled at the Todor Kableshkov University of Transport, where she studied for two semesters before starting her job. Petya Ruseva didn't need additional training, as she already held a certificate as a locomotive driver - her father works as a driver in a private company.
Both of them drive only on the newest, third metro line that connects the neighborhoods of Ovcha Kupel and Hadji Dimitar, as they were told that the older two lines do not have good conditions for women - for example, there are no designated ladies' restrooms.
The third line is also the easiest to operate because it's the newest. It is largely automated: the driver monitors all the indicators, presses the buttons to open and close the doors, and presses a button to "confirm" their presence, while also monitoring cameras watching from different angles. There is also a manual mode that requires more work, but generally, the Siemens machine sets the speed, sometimes moving more slowly to "pass" more energy to an incoming train going in the opposite direction, if it's, for example, climbing.
The shifts in the metro are two days off for every two workdays, with day and night shifts. Before every ride, drivers must pass a mandatory medical examination. The total hours in the job are 12 per day, but every two hours train operators take a one-hour break, as they need to get out of the cabin. "A lot of people have asked me why I would work underground, but I don't feel any discomfort, even though it's been five years since I started this job. It's clean, and there's a well-organized schedule," says Ruseva.
In other countries, female metro and train drivers are quite common. Spain is a record-holder, with 57% of metro drivers and 32% of train drivers being women, while in the Netherlands, 43% of tram drivers are women, according to a 2023 study by the International Association of Public Transport (UITP), commissioned by the European Investment Bank.
'No' to buses
The situation with buses is completely different. The study of 600,000 workers shows that driving a bus is the least attractive job for women drivers. On average, only 9% of female drivers work in this sector. The reasons are worse working conditions, a more dangerous environment, especially for women, and more conflict situations on the road. "I prefer driving a metro train because there are no people, no cars on the lines, and no conflict situations like those that happen with surface transport, including trams," says Ruseva.
According to the UITP study, fewer women want to drive buses due to perceived barriers and a lack of encouragement. "For example, the belief that driving a bus is difficult and requires a level of confidence that women lack shows how gender expectations influence career opportunities," the report states. Vanya Georgieva, who has driven both trams and metro trains, says she wouldn't try driving a bus because she's used to driving on rails. Buses have too many routes, and it's easier to mix up a specific route. "But here, the rails guide me," she says.
Data from transport companies in the coastal cities of Varna and Burgas confirm the trend seen in the EU. "The number of female drivers is currently 20. In comparison, there are 400 male drivers. Over the last five years, we've hired 6 female drivers," the municipal company City Transport - Varna tells the Capital Weekly. They also note that interest in the position is increasing from both men and women due to improved salaries, better working conditions, and benefits. In 2019, the former director of the municipal company, Zlati Zlatev, even mentioned the need to attract more female drivers, as, in his opinion, they are more careful and perform better. "We're considering what we could do to attract more women by providing them with special conditions," Zlatev said back then.
In Burgas, there are only two female bus drivers, while the remaining 241 are men, according to a response from the municipal company Burgasbus. Sofia Auto Transport did not respond to Capital's questions by the time of publication.
Data from Sofia Electric Transport also shows that the number of female trolleybus drivers is very low. In 2020, there were 17 women, but in the last two years, this number has decreased to 11. "The data clearly shows that the number of women working as trolleybus drivers is decreasing. Sofia Electric Transport continuously publishes job ads aimed at both genders. A campaign was also held this year in various media," says the executive director of Sofia Electric Transport Evgenii Ganchev, noting that prior experience is not required and training is provided.
Both public transport operators in Sofia are struggling with a shortage of drivers and are actively recruiting. The Sofia Urban Mobility Center also regularly posts enticing ads, claiming that salaries are quite good. However, drivers argue otherwise, and they protested again this autumn. Subsequently, salaries were raised by 15%, but the final amount at the end of the month changes depending on shifts and overtime.
In the job advertisement published by the Sofia Urban Mobility Center, it is stated that the salary starts from 2400 levs (approximately 1220 euro) net and can reach up to 3700 levs (1880 euro). Efforts are also being made to improve working conditions. On Thursday, the Municipal Council approved the proposal of councilors Vanya Grigorova, Ekaterina Yordanova, Andrey Zografski, and others, to allocate a 15 million levs (approx. 7.65 million euro) loan to improve the working conditions for service workers and drivers at the city transport depots. There are plans to renovate warehouses, break rooms, restrooms, and other facilities used daily by the staff.
Nevertheless, as long as the stereotype of an 'incompetent' female driver continues to spread and there are no targeted policies to address it, the number of female drivers is unlikely to grow significantly. The European Commission has long recognized this and is trying to encourage more women to work in the sector through various campaigns. However, local actions also remain crucial.
- Where there is a choice, women prefer rail transport - metro or trams.
- The share of female tram drivers is 42% in 2024, while there are almost no women driving buses.
A lady with pink hair, a neat jacket, and a welcoming smile on her face. You probably wouldn't picture this image when thinking about who operates trains in Sofia metro. But here she is: when the train arrives at the Krasno Selo station, her high-heeled boots decisively make their way toward the cabin, and while passengers board, she has already taken control of the train.