From 1.30 pm on Saturday, 9 December, women in Telangana can travel in Telangana State Road Transportation Corporation (TSRTC) buses across the state for free.
The scheme will be launched on the occasion of the birthday of the Congress’s senior leader Sonia Gandhi by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy at the Assembly under the “Mahalakshmi” scheme.
This scheme is one of the six poll guarantees promised by the grand old party to the people in the run-up to the Assembly elections.
About Mahalakshmi scheme
All women, regardless of their age, can travel in these buses as long as they have relevant ID proof issued either by the state or the Union government.
The bus staff will issue a “zero ticket” to those passengers who will benefit from the scheme in a bid to know how many women have availed free travel.
The free travel would be allowed in Palle Velugu, Express, City Ordinary, and City Metro buses. The women can board and deboard anywhere. There is no bar on the number of times a woman can travel for free in these buses. The fare will be reimbursed to the TSRTC by the state government.
మాట ఇచ్చినం – నెరవేరుస్తున్నాం.
తెలంగాణ రాష్ట్రం ఇచ్చిన తల్లి సోనియా గాంధీ గారి జన్మదినం సందర్భంగా మహిళలకు ఆర్టీసీ బస్సులో ఉచిత ప్రయాణం రేపటి నుంచి ప్రారంభం.#Congress6Guarantees pic.twitter.com/gFTG3hVw6S
— Telangana Congress (@INCTelangana) December 8, 2023
TSRTC Managing Director VC Sajjanar, after a review of the scheme with Chief Minister Revanth Reddy at the secretariat, said that the new facility would help in reducing the rate of accidents in the state. “This is a step towards empowerment of women,” he said.
Also read: How Telangana voters are responding to poll guarantees
Zero ticketing system
The chief minister discussed the implementation of free RTC bus rides for women at the state Cabinet meeting, which he chaired on Thursday evening.
The officials of the TSRTC went to Karnataka and studied the implementation of the scheme. The zero ticketing system, which Sajjanar announced, is in force in Karnataka.
It lets the TSRTC know how many women have availed free rides on the buses, which would further help them know how much revenue must be reimbursed from the government.
It is estimated that the free ride for women might place a burden of ₹2,000 crore per year.
