Free bus rides for women? KSRTC starts gathering gender-wise passenger data

Thiruvananthapuram: Even as the Congress that won the Kerala assembly election is yet to form a government, the state transport corporation seems to be gearing up to implement the Congress's election guarantee of free travel for women.

A decision of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) to collect gender based data of passengers is believed to be a prelude to it.

From Saturday onwards the corporation is recording the gender of passengers and whether it is child or adult while issuing tickets. Necessary updations were made in the electronic ticketing machines.

It is learnt to be part of an effort to estimate the financial obligations involved in offering free travel for women.

Congress-led UDF had promised in the election manifesto that free travel would be provided for women in state transport buses. It was also well received by the women voters, who are more in numbers.

KSRTC sources said that already women form a major chunk of passengers in the state transport buses. Hence offering free travel to women would be a serious challenge for the cash strapped corporation.