Bengaluru
The announcement of the much-awaited ‘Shakti’ — scheme for free travel for women — by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday (June 2) evoked positive responses from citizen activists who say the scheme will be a powerful mechanism for the social and economic empowerment of women.
The scheme for free travel for women will be launched on June 11 across the State. and will be applicable in all buses except air-conditioned (AC) and luxury buses. The four State-run road transport corporations (RTCs) — BMTC, KSRTC, NWKRTC, and KKRTC — have 94% of ordinary buses whereas the remaining 6% of buses are premium bus services such as Airavat, Rajahamsa Executive, AC premium electric buses, and Ambari bus services.
Speaking to The Hindu, a senior KSRTC official said, “Women passengers can travel for free in 94% of buses across the state. However, they can not travel free of cost outside the state.”
The officials had earlier submitted a detailed report to the Chief Minister with four options to implement the scheme. The report noted that the RTCs have to spend ₹4,220 crore annually to implement the scheme while the four RTCs have to induct 4,028 new buses and recruit 13,793 crew. The officials also said that since the daily ridership may increase by at least 10% after the scheme is implemented, the bus fleet and staff have to be increased to provide good service.
Access to many rights
The announcement was welcomed by various civic and public transport activists who said that the scheme would benefit working women and improve the female labour force in the State.
Bengaluru Bus Prayanikara Vedike(BBPV) said the scheme will enable more women and the transgender community to access their right to education, right to livelihoods and increase their participation in the economy. Vinay K. Sreenivasa, a member of BBPV, said, “Since the past two years, we have been advocating for free fares for women, students, the transgender community and senior citizens. The government’s decision to implement free fares for women, including students and the transgender community, is a welcome move. They will now also have greater choices in accessing education and jobs, as they need not be constrained by the expense on transport.”
“As is evidenced from the Tamil Nadu Planning Board study, this scheme will enable households from marginalised communities to save more, enabling them to spend the savings on pressing needs like food and education,” he added.
Srinivas Alavilli, a citizen activist and Fellow at WRI India, said that the scheme would be a powerful mechanism for the social and economic empowerment of women.
“Public investment in this scheme can be seen as a fight against climate change as more women are likely to switch to public transport. A few more points that the government can consider along with the implementation of this scheme are, providing funds for procuring additional buses, issuing ₹0 tickets in consultation with BMLTA to understand the impact of the scheme better,” he said, adding that the government should consider allowing women to pay for their tickets if they wish to similar to Delhi.
Apart from implementing the scheme the activists also urged the state government to look into collecting data to better understand gender-based differences in travel patterns and trends to provide solutions for making travel safer and more comfortable for women.
Activist Tara Krishnaswamy, said, “This scheme will allow women to secure jobs since many women tend to work in informal sectors. This does not just benefit women alone as they earn more and spend more on household.”
