Thiruvananthapuram, June 15 (APAC Media): Kerala on Monday launched the Priyadarshini free bus travel scheme for women and transgender persons.
Through this the government fulfilled one of the key promises made by the Congress-led UDF during the Assembly election campaign.
A promise to the people is a promise to be kept.
A real emancipation of women… Today, at #KSRTC Central Bus Station, we launched #Priyadarshini—free travel for all women and transgender persons in KSRTC buses under the #IndiraGuaranteesProgramme.This is more than free bus… pic.twitter.com/XeL4DkTm5s
— V D Satheesan (@vdsatheesan) June 15, 2026
Chief Minister V D Satheesan inaugurated the scheme by flagging off a KSRTC bus operated by an all-women crew at Thampanoor Bus Station in Thiruvananthapuram.
He said the initiative was a right and not a favour, adding that the state government would spend around Rs 800 crore annually on the programme.
Under the scheme, women and transgender persons can travel free on ordinary KSRTC services. These include city ordinary, limited-stop, town-to-town, point-to-point and Gramavandi buses.
The Chief Minister said this is only the first phase and that more categories of buses will be included later.
The free travel scheme was one of the five Indira Guarantees announced by the UDF before the Assembly elections.
However, the original promise had spoken of free travel on all buses, leading to criticism from the Opposition over the limited rollout.
Questions have also been raised about the scheme’s reach. Ordinary services are not evenly distributed across the state.
While Thiruvananthapuram has 687 ordinary buses, Malappuram has only 98, raising concerns over whether women in all districts will benefit equally.
The CPI(M) boycotted the launch event and accused the government of diluting its poll promise.
The BJP also organised protests across the state, alleging that women had been denied the benefits promised during the election campaign.
Addressing concerns raised by private bus operators, the Chief Minister assured that any losses suffered by them due to the scheme would be compensated.
The government hopes the initiative will make public transport more affordable and improve mobility for women across the state.
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