The Congress government in Kerala has made a major announcement for women. Free travel for women has been approved on the state's KSRTC buses.

The Congress government in Kerala has made a major announcement for women. The cabinet, headed by Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan, has approved free travel for women on KSRTC buses. Kerala Transport Minister C.P. John stated that the annual cost of the free travel scheme for women on Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses would range from ₹712 crore to ₹1,300 crore.

Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses will offer free travel to women starting June 15. For the first 100 days, the scheme will cover ordinary KSRTC buses. The government plans to conduct a study before expanding it to fast passenger buses in the coming phases.

Kerala Transport Minister C.P. John stated that free travel for women on KSRTC buses was one of the five guarantees made by the Congress-led UDF during its assembly election campaign. Addressing concerns about the financial burden on KSRTC, John said that if free travel is limited to general class buses only, the annual cost would be approximately ₹712 crore, while extending it to all classes of buses could cost approximately ₹1,300 crore.

Transport Minister
CP John stated that the Kerala government will provide subsidies, as these expenses cannot be met from KSRTC revenues. The government already provides approximately ₹125 crore per month for salaries and pensions, and this will be additional support.

He further stated that the scheme will be implemented with the support of the government, and its impact will be assessed over time. He stated that the scheme will be implemented starting June 15th. Regarding the relaxation of vehicle modification rules, the minister stated that no meeting has yet been held on this issue, and a decision will be made only after discussion.

PC: ABP News