Free bus ride for women in Andhra Pradesh likely from 'Ugadi'

Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government has estimated there will be an additional burden of Rs 265 crore per month on the state's exchequer due to the implementation of the free bus ride scheme for women.

Free bus rides for women were one of the 'super six' promises the TDP-Jana Sena combine had announced in the joint manifesto before the simultaneous polls held for state assembly and Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh in May.

Sources in the Andhra Pradesh government said that RTC management has been working out modalities to implement the scheme. APSRTC officials have been visiting other states to study the implementation of the scheme. The government will issue zero-fare tickets to the passengers and reimburse the RTC.

Despite the new government taking charge of the state almost six months ago, the free bus scheme remained unimplemented. The neighbouring states of Karnataka and Telangana have already implemented free bus rides for women. A cabinet subcommittee appointed to study free bus rides for women in other states would be visiting Karnataka on January 2 to study the implementation of the scheme.

At a review meeting with the transport department on Monday, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu hinted that the scheme may be implemented from Ugadi onwards. Initially, Naidu planned to launch the scheme during Sankranthi in mid-January. Due to time constraints and the need for new arrangements such as bus procurement, the APSRTC has decided to postpone the launch to Ugadi in March.

RTC has estimated that it needs at least 3500 additional buses and 11,500 additional staff to implement the free bus ride scheme for women. The government is also expecting the occupancy ratio to go up from the present 69 percent to 94 percent. The government estimates that implementing the scheme for all bus categories, including ordinary, express, metro express, Palle Velugu, etc., will cost Rs 265 crore per month, or around Rs 3,182 crore per annum. Implementing the scheme solely for ordinary buses would incur a monthly cost of Rs 177 crore. RTC teams had already visited Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Telangana, and Punjab, where the free bus ride scheme is being implemented, and submitted a detailed report to the government.