India regional bus schemes provide free travel for women

Government initiatives providing free bus travel for women in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi have seen significant engagement during recent festive periods.

In Uttar Pradesh, the government's free bus scheme saw over 88.94 lakh passengers benefit from the service between August 27 and August 29. This included 55.17 lakh women and 33.76 lakh accompanying passengers. The government spent approximately 106.98 crore rupees to facilitate these trips, noting that ridership increased compared to the previous year.

In Delhi, the government has extended the validity of paper-based ‘Pink Tickets’ for free bus travel until September 17. This extension aims to ease the transition as the city moves toward a mandatory digital system. After September 17, women will be required to use the ‘Pink Saheli Smart Card’ to access free travel on Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and cluster buses. The digital card is intended to link with Aadhaar and mobile numbers to maintain travel records.