Bus travel for women: Which states offer it free and how to avail?

Bus travel for women is free in eight states and one union territory of India. Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Delhi, Punjab, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana, Jammu and Kashmir, and Andhra Pradesh have either announced or implemented schemes to make bus travel for women in most government-run buses free.

But on-ground implementation and rules differ across states. Another point of discrepancy is the expansion of the free facility to transgender persons. Here’s a guide to know the differences and facilities in each state. 

Understanding zero-ticket travel

‘Zero-ticket’ travel is a phrase that is common across regions which offer free commuting on buses. This does not mean that tickets are not issued. It means that the conductor will issue a ‘zero-ticket’. This is a ticket that levies no charge on the passenger and is for records. In some cases, you may use smart cards issued by your local transport authority.

Who can travel?

The verification of the passenger (linked to the geography of the beneficiary) is done by the conductor before issuing a ‘zero-ticket’ to the relevant passenger. Identification proofs for free travel differ by state. But the most common ones include the Aadhaar card, Elector’s Photo Identity Card (EPIC), VB-G RAMG job card, Ayushman Bharat health card, driving license, PAN card, passport, pension document with photograph, identity card of Central/State government/PSUs, and identity cards issued by schools/colleges/universities.

The use of smart cards to verify the identity of the passenger availing free travel on buses is also common.

The fine-print for each State and region differs. 

Tamil Nadu 

‘Vidiyal Payanam Thittam’ scheme was inaugurated in May 2021 under the DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) government. It covers women, persons with disabilities, and transgender persons. 

In May 2025, four years after the inauguration of the scheme, the government announced that so far 682.02 crore free rides have been availed through this scheme, the government said. While transgender persons have made 36.89 lakh journeys, persons with disabilities have undertaken 3.78 crore journeys. Due to this scheme, women were able to save up to ₹888 per month.

In March 2026, the then Transport Minister S.S. Sivasankar said that the number of women passengers using the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) buses has increased from 40% to 70% after the introduction of the scheme.

However, theState Planning Commission report released in 2022 noted some issues in Tiruppur region of the State, including rude behaviour by bus operators and conductors towards women availing the free commute. 

West Bengal 

West Bengal has announced free bus travel only for women in the state on June 1, 2026. The free bus travel was announced under the ‘Annapurna Bhandar’scheme. This employs a smart card with a QR code to verify the identity of the passenger before the conductor issues a ‘zero-ticket’ to the woman. It does not cover transgender persons.

Until the issuance of the smart card, showing any of the government-issued identity cards for free bus travel is an alternative to avail the facility.

The Transport Department of the Government of West Bengal has not given out any data and the website till the date of publication does not mention the free bus travel scheme for women. 

Delhi 

The national capital announced free bus travel for women and transgender persons in October 2019 under the Aam Aadmi Party government. This employed a ‘pink ticket’ system in which the conductor gave a pink ticket to the passengers availing the service. This was transitioned to a ‘Pink Saheli Smart Card’ in March 2025. 

But three months later, visits by The Hindu to five distribution centres and interviews with applicants revealed that transgender persons are mostly unable to obtain the cards despite being listed as eligible beneficiaries. At four of the five centres visited, officials said the cards were not issued to transgender persons despite the card explicitly mentioning “female/transgender”. At one centre, officials agreed to issue the card only after this was pointed out. 

Punjab 

Punjab launched a similar free bus scheme for women in 2021 on all government run buses. Raghav Chadha, who was then the co-incharge of the Aam Aadmi Party’s Punjab unit had pointed out that the scheme was “poor copy” of the Delhi scheme implemented by the Kejriwal government. 

Apart from politicking, overreliance of the State’s transport network on private buses led to issues for commuters availing the scheme. 

The scheme did not explicitly cover transgender persons like other states. 

Karnataka 

Karnataka launched the ‘Shakti Scheme’ on June 11, 2023, allowing free travel for women with Karnataka domicile to travel on non-premium government buses operated by four State-run transport corporations-KSRTC, BMTC, NWKRTC and KKRTC. Under the scheme, women could board ordinary and express services within Karnataka by showing valid ID proof issued by the State Government or any Central Government document that confirms domicile. 

However, The Hindu in 2025 noted that the smart cards were yet to be distributed.  Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said that the plan to issue smart cards is in place, but the rollout is delayed due to the lack of electronic ticketing machines (ETMs) in all buses, making implementation unfeasible. 

Transgender people are not explicitly included in the scheme.

Kerala

Kerala launched the free-bus travel scheme called ‘Priyadarshini scheme’ on June 15, 2026, covering both women and transgender people on ordinary buses operated by the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation(KSRTC). 

Under the scheme, women and transgender persons can travel free of charge on seven categories of KSRTC ordinary services: ordinary, city ordinary, limited-stop ordinary, fair-stage ordinary, town-to-town, point-to-point, and Gramavandi services. Ahead of the launch, stickers were affixed to eligible buses to help passengers identify the services under the scheme. 

A section of commuters alleged that the number of buses carrying the City Fast tag swelled overnight in Thiruvananthapuram city, depriving many passengers of the benefits of the scheme. They alleged that City Fast stickers were affixed to buses parked in and around the Thiruvananthapuram City depot to deny passengers the benefits of the free travel scheme.

However, the authorities clarified that the scheme is not available on City Fast services in the first phase and that the stickers were affixed to help passengers easily identify these buses.

Telangana

Telangana in December 2023 launched the free-bus scheme for all women, girls, and transgender persons, called the ‘Mahalakshmi’ scheme. 

CM Revanth Reddy issues ‘no charge tickets’, launches scheme for free travel to women in TSRTC

The scheme offers free travel to women and transgender community in most of the government-operated buses. 

However, in March 2025, auto-rickshaw union leaders maintain that the Mahalakshmi scheme, an election guarantee of the Congress government offering free travel for women in State-run buses, has eaten into their income. Several drivers, they claim, have taken their own lives under the crushing financial strain. 

A year later, in March, 2026, Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar on Wednesday stated in the Legislative Council that women had availed 279.97 crore free bus trips under the scheme. 

Jammu and Kashmir 

The state of Jammu and Kashmir also launched a free-bus scheme for women on some state-run buses on April 1, 2025. It works on the same ‘zero-ticket’ issuance model as other states. Launched by CM Omar Abdullah, the scheme aimed to provide widespread ease for commuting to women passengers and increase mobility. It does not explicitly include transgender persons.

However, some issues in the scheme include widespread rural and urban disparity in bus services, leading to commuters being unable to avail the free-bus service. 

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh has a free-bus ride scheme for all women, girl students, and transgender individuals to travel for free. It was approved by the state cabinet on August 6, 2025. The scheme covers rural and regional services, including Palle Velugu, Ultra Palle Velugu, City Ordinary, Metro Express, and Express buses. It excludes interstate routes, long-distance luxury services, and chartered packages. 

Cabinet approves free bus ride for women in Andhra Pradesh from August 15

It employs the ‘zero-ticket’ model that allows passengers to avail the service upon showing valid ID proofs like the Aadhaar card. 

Some issues pointed out by critics of the scheme include a drain on the state’s budget and overcrowding in buses. A major focal point of the discord is between the state transport employee unions and the government after the latter announced the addition of 5,120 new electric buses run by private operators. The scheme, however, does not cover private buses as of the date of publication.