KSRTC's free ride for women only on ordinary buses now; Vijay's 'Vetri Payanam' soon

Kerala's new government's pre-election promise of free rides for women on all KSRTC buses was expected to launch on June 15. However, the authorities have now decided to launch it first on ordinary buses.

The move is to study the impact for 100 days. The decision on which buses, areas, and the age groups of women who will benefit from this scheme will be announced only after this study. As of now, the KSRTC has implemented gender ticketing, under which the ticket machine on buses records whether a passenger is male, female, or a transgender person.

Meanwhile, in the neighbouring Tamil Nadu, where Chief Minister Vijay had announced a similar 'Vetri Payanam' scheme, the free travel for women will be in all government buses.

The scheme is expected to be launched by June 21. Unlike the previous government's 'Vidiyal Payanam' scheme, which offered free rides only in certain town buses and pink buses, Vijay's scheme plans to let women travel all on transport buses of Tamil Nadu for free.

It also plans to install panic buttons on all public transport vehicles, including shared autorickshaws, to protect women.