Free bus travel for women in Tamil Nadu helps them save money and travel safe

The ambitious Zero-Ticket Bus Travel (ZTBT) scheme for women has achieved its objectives with a two-part survey conducted by the State Planning Commission of Tamil Nadu revealing that it has reduced dependence of women on their family members for mobility and fosters “new opportunities for social networks and learning.”

The survey which was conducted in Chennai, Nagapattinam, Tiruppur, and Madurai districts said more than 80 per cent of the women, who were approached for participating in the exercise, earn less than Rs 12,000 a month, benefitting women in low-income categories than those from well-to-do households.

Also Read: Centre should ensure states receive legitimate share in devolution: Tamil Nadu FM

The money saved goes into savings or meeting additional expenses incurred by the family, the survey found. While the average saving of a woman in Chennai is Rs 858 every month, it is Rs 888 in three districts, where savings across different occupational categories of women passengers range from Rs 756 to Rs 1,012 per month, it said.

The scheme, a key election promise of the DMK, was implemented on May 8, 2021, a day after M K Stalin was sworn-in as the Chief Minister. The free travel for women in town buses across the state also led to an increase in the share of women passengers from 40 per cent to 61 per cent, prompting the government to increase the budget outlay to Rs 1,520 in 2022-2023 from Rs 1,200 in 2021-2022.

Women who board the buses are provided tickets that say ‘free travel for women’ which are used to calculate the beneficiaries of the scheme. Apart from working women, the scheme also immensely helps street vendors especially in cities as they travel to buy vegetables and fruits from wholesale markets and sell in their respective areas.

“The scheme has particularly helped women users by contributing to higher disposable income, enabling higher work participation, reducing dependence on family members for their mobility and fostering new opportunities for social networks and learning,” the report said.

In Chennai, the savings due to the introduction of the ZTBT scheme amount to 8-12 per cent of the monthly income of beneficiaries, while around 60 per cent of them are below the age of 40 indicating higher levels of mobility among younger women. While the number of people over 40 years of age benefitted by the scheme in Chennai is 41 per cent, it is almost 50 per cent in other parts of the state.

The SPC said this indicates the extent to which this scheme benefits older women as well and suggests its importance to their lives.

Also Read: Tamil Nadu to launch 25 ‘Green Schools’

In Chennai, almost 80 per cent of users belonged to Scheduled Caste (SC) and Backward Classes (BC) households, out of which women belonging to SC households comprised nearly 39 per cent. “Given that the share of SCs in the state, particularly in urban Tamil Nadu is lower, it appears that the scheme benefits SC women more,” the report said.

In the three districts, 39 per cent users belong to SC, 21 per cent to MBC and 18 per cent to BC, suggesting that the scheme benefits women from marginalized social groups more than their share in the state’s population, the survey said, adding that 92 per cent of women who participated in the exercise felt safe traveling in government buses in Chennai.

While the average women user in the rest of the state saves 11.4 per cent of her monthly income through this scheme, those from economically vulnerable sections like street vendors and domestic workers save approximately 14 per cent of their monthly income.

The scheme has generated incentives for women to undertake self-employment activities such as vending of food products, thus contributing to higher work participation, the survey found. It also said women users also report reduced dependence on family members for their travel needs contributing to their empowerment and dignity.