'Ti Toilet': Portable toilets on solar-powered buses giving Pune women a safe space

Portable toilets on solar-powered buses are giving Pune women a safe space. Ti Toilet project was launched in 2016 by entrepreneurs Ulka Sadalkar and Rajeev Kher, which has 12 mobile washrooms and is being used by over 200 women daily on an average.

"Ti" means "her" in Marathi. The buses are powered by solar panels installed on the top of the vehicle. It is relatively affordable with five rupees per head and any woman can board the mobile toilets and use the facilities, breastfeed babies or purchase sanitary napkins and diapers.

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1000 toilets across India in the next 5 years

Sadalkar said they came up with the idea as part of a series of projects focused on improving hygiene in Pune. She told the media that they believe women should deserve access to clean and safe washrooms and it is a basic right. The entrepreneur further added that the duo wanted to open 1,000 toilets across India in the next five years. She said that they focused a lot in refurbishing these buses and provided clean toilets, television sets, temperature monitors with an attendant to keep a vigil. 

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Neat, clean and comfortable

An 18-year-old college student Suvarna Dongar spoke to the media that she was surprised to find a pink women-only "washroom-on-wheels" in a public park in Pune. She said that she had come to the park and wanted to visit the washroom urgently. She added that the toilets are very neat, clean, comfortable and safe. 

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