Hyderabad: In a week from now, women and trans people will be able to travel free of charge on Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) buses as the Chandrababu Naidu-led government gears up to roll out another one of its “Super Six” election promises on 15 August.
Approved by the Andhra Pradesh cabinet Wednesday, the ‘Stree-Shakti’ scheme is expected to cost the state government Rs 1,942 crore each year. A similar scheme (Mahalakshmi) was rolled out in neighbouring Telangana by the Revanth Reddy-led Congress government in December 2023.
Congress-ruled Karnataka too launched a similar scheme in June 2023. In both Karnataka and Telangana, the scheme is believed to have played some part in the Congress storming to power.
However, while the Mahalakshmi scheme in Telangana was flagged off by CM Revanth Reddy within two days of his swearing-in, in Andhra Pradesh the scheme is being rolled out 14 months after the TDP-Jana Sena combine with Chandrababu Naidu at the helm formed a government.
“Under the scheme, women, girls, and transgenders belonging to the state are provided the opportunity to travel free of charge from anywhere to anywhere,” Kolusu Parthasarathy, the state minister for information & public relations and housing, said Wednesday at Amaravati.
Kantilal Dande, principal secretary (transport, roads & buildings), told ThePrint the scheme will apply to five types of state-run buses: PalleVelugu, Ultra PalleVelugu, City Ordinary, Metro Express, and Express.
Those eligible can avail of it by showing their Aadhaar, voter ID or ration card to the bus conductor.
While the first four types of buses operate on short-distance routes, the Express service plies on long-distance routes—Vijayawada to Tirupati, for instance.
Dande clarified that the ‘Stree-Shakti’ scheme will not apply to non-stop interstate bus services or any other types, including higher-priced segments like Ultra Deluxe and Super Luxury. The scheme will also not apply to contract carriage services, chartered services, and package tours.
Women make up 49.9 percent (2.62 crore) of Andhra Pradesh’s total population (5.25 crore).
Under this scheme, free travel for women and trans persons will be available for 74 percent of APSRTC’s total fleet of 6,700 buses. The scheme is expected to cost the state government Rs 162 crore per month.
The government expects that the scheme will encourage an estimated 10.84 lakh more women commuters to use state-run buses, besides the 16.11 lakh women already using APSRTC services.
“In implementing this scheme, the government will place great emphasis on the safety of women and girls by providing body cameras to female conductors and installing CC cameras in buses. Similarly, basic facilities like fans and good water facilities will also be provided at bus stations,” said the minister.
It is learnt that APSRTC plans to procure more than 4,000 electric buses over the next two years, while also recruiting more drivers and mechanics, to be able to cater to increased demand.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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