Kerala launches free bus rides for women, transgender persons

Kerala Chief Minister VD Satheesan on Monday flagged off the Priyadarshini scheme offering free bus travel for women and transgender persons on ordinary KSRTC buses across the state. The programme was inaugurated at an event held at the Thampanoor KSRTC bus terminal in Thiruvananthapuram.

At the inauguration, CM Satheesan said, "Free bus travel is a tribute to women of Kerala, also a message that society should learn to respect women.”

With the scheme, the UDF-led government is fulfilling a key election promise that is expected to help millions of women in the state commute to work daily without worrying about bus fares.

In his speech, he pointed out that the free bus ride should not be considered a charity for women and that it will have a far-reaching socio-economic impact.

The CM said that poor women who commute daily for work, including those employed as housemaids, will benefit from the initiative.

“Women can now travel with pride on a government bus. There are so many women who travel on KSRTC buses — fisherwomen, women who travel from one part of the city to another to work as house help in flats in villas, working hard from morning to night; students, working women, all strata of working women. Now, they can keep aside the money they used to spend on travel and use it for important things,” he said.

The chief minister, along with Transport Minister C P John, Minister for the Welfare of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Backward Classes K A Thulasi and senior officials, ravelled in a KSRTC bus from the Thampanoor bus station to the Secretariat along with women passengers, signalling the launch of the initiative. The bus had a woman driver and a woman conductor to manage ticketing

The scheme falls under one of the five “Indira Guarantees” and will initially be available to women of all ages and transgender persons, who can travel for free, irrespective of income, social status, or any other criteria. It does not require prior registration, documentation or applications. 

However, to facilitate transparent accounting and reimbursement of expenses to KSRTC, beneficiaries will be required to obtain a zero-value 'Priyadarshini' ticket from conductors through the Electronic Ticket Machine (ETM) while travelling. The concession will be available in all 3,125 ordinary buses currently operated by KSRTC.

(With inputs from PTI)

(Screen grab from Facebook page of Kerala CM, VD Satheesan)