Free bus travel scheme: 57 lakh women benefit daily as public demands for inclusion of men

CHENNAI: After the DMK’s free bus travel scheme for women became a huge hit among the public, demand for including men in the scheme has risen.

During the last assembly elections, the DMK made a promise to launch a free bus travel scheme for women. Following this, the party introduced the "Vidiyal Payanam" scheme, which enabled women to travel for free on government buses, added a Daily Thanthi report.

The scheme has been a huge success, with an average of 57.81 lakh women benefitting from it on a daily basis. For many working women, the initiative has led to savings of up to Rs 1000 per month, which has resulted in significant financial relief. Following this, other states are also looking to implement similar schemes.

With the public reacting positively to the scheme, there has been a growing demand to extend the scheme to include men as well. The issue was recently brought up during question hour in the Assembly.

Thiruvadanai MLA Karumanickam brought up the subject of setting up a workshop in the Thondi area and requested the government to replace old buses. Additionally, he asked whether men would also be granted free bus travel.

In response to this, Transport Minister S S Sivasankar stated that the proposal for establishing a workshop in Thondi is currently under review. On the topic of free bus travel for men, the minister pointed out that the current scheme was introduced to empower women.

However, he assured that once the state’s financial situation improves, the government will consider extending the free bus travel benefit to men as well.