As part of the new Congress government’s initiative to empower women, women, girls, and transgender people of all ages will be able to travel free on Telangana State’s state-owned Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) buses starting on Saturday. This initiative was pledged during the election campaign.
The Congress government ordered the facility to be implemented under the Mahalakshmi project of their six assurances the day after taking office. On December 9, the birthday of Congress senior leader Sonia Gandhi, the State administration released the details for the scheme’s implementation.
College student Divya Khatri commented, “We are extremely excited to travel in state-run buses for free as it helps in our mobility, as we were facing difficulties earlier by spending huge amounts of money on expenses,” following the scheme’s adoption. But since it solves our issues, TSRTC must also boost bus frequency for commuters.
The TSRTC declared that it is offering free bus transportation inside the State borders to its beneficiaries, who include women, girls, students, and people of third gender, in accordance with the State government’s regulations.
Speaking about the introduction of free bus services, TSRTC MD V C Sajjanar announced that State Assembly grounds will host the free travel initiative for women on Saturday at 1:30 p.m., headed by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy.
To get to Telangana State’s boundaries, the women can take Palle Velugu and Express interstate buses.
“They can travel by presenting any identity card, such as a passport, voter ID, Aadhaar, or a driver’s licence. Nothing will be restricted. They will not receive any tickets in the coming days, he added, adding that they are free to go any distance within the State.
“The newly elected Congress government has boldly embraced the policy of providing free bus transportation for women; TSRTC is perfectly equipped to carry out this initiative. Nearly 40,000 drivers and conductors carrying out tasks at the field level participated in virtual meetings. We gave them instructions on how to take the free bus,” Sajjanar continued.
Beneficiaries of the program may utilise up to 7,292 buses, and according to TSRTC’s travel patterns, 40% of its passengers are female. With the program’s execution, this percentage should increase to 50–55 percent. According to Sajjanar, TSRTC will apply for government reimbursement based on the number of people who benefit from the program. He referred to it as a historic choice that will strengthen the public transportation network.
He declared, “TSRTC’s daily revenues of Rs 14 crore will automatically decrease by 50% with the implementation of this scheme.” We’re going to ask the government to cover the shortfall,” he declared.
If more buses are needed, the TSRTC will request the government to purchase them after observing the travel pattern for a few days.
Furthermore, Sajjanar gave the officials instructions to concentrate on managing bus terminals because there could be an increase in bus congestion when free travel is offered. It is advised that employees follow rules and execute their responsibilities with tolerance and patience.
