Free bus travel for women launched in West Bengal; digital smart cards soon

The free government bus ride for women has been a 'route' many political parties are taking now in the form of poll promises to impress their voters, and quite successfully too. At a time when Kerala is all set to launch it on June 15, and Tamil Nadu is waiting for a date, West Bengal has already joined the trend by rolling out free journeys for women on state-run buses across all routes.

The government made rides free for women from June 1 on all buses of the West Bengal Transport Corporation, South Bengal State Transport Corporation, and North Bengal State Transport Corporation. The state government has said it would issue digital smart cards, with beneficiaries' photographs and names, to prevent misuse of the scheme.

Not enough buses
Many women in Bengal told PTI there weren't enough buses to provide this service effectively. "I am happy, but the frequency of state buses needs to be increased," said Mala Biswas, one of the commuters. She also said that the number of state-run buses had decreased sharply since the COVID-19 pandemic. "Several government-run bus routes have vanished over the last few years, adding woes to commuters," said Sumana Singh, travelling by a state-run air-conditioned bus to Salt Lake Sector V, an IT hub, from Gariahat in south Kolkata. Manisha Barman, travelling to Cooch Behar from Siliguri by bus with her two daughters, said the nearly 170 km journey to their native village will become easier owing to the scheme.

Other states offering free rides
Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Punjab, Telangana, Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala also offer free bus rides for women. Delhi introduced the 'pink ticket' bus scheme in 2019. Transgender passengers are also allowed to avail themselves of the free ride in the capital city.