Opposing Kerala govt scheme, private bus operator offers free travel for men

Kochi: Protesting the state govt’s move to introduce free travel for women in KSRTC ordinary buses, a private bus operator in Ernakulam has launched a bizarre, one-day token strike by offering free bus travel for men.Davis B O, the owner of the ‘Little Flower’ bus operating on the Aluva-Athani-Manjali route, announced that male passengers can travel free of charge for one day in his bus. The move comes in response to the govt’s ‘Priyadarshini’ scheme, as part of the Indira guarantee initiative, providing free travel for women and transgender individuals in 3,125 ordinary KSRTC buses from Monday.Additionally, Davis plans to distribute sweets to women who choose to ride his buses instead of the free govt service. “We want to thank the women passengers who ignore the free ride and continue to travel in our buses,” Davis told TOI, adding that the gesture is a personal decision to highlight the plight of the private bus operators.“Bus operators like me will be badly hit by the move. With free rides on offer, we fear the women commuters will ditch us and question marks will be raised on our very survival. Never in my 40 years in the industry have I faced such a crisis,” said Davis, a state member of the Private Bus Operators Association (PBOA).His bus conducts 14 round trips daily from 6.30am to 8pm, earning around Rs 10,500 in revenue. “After all expenses, what we get at the end of the day is a paltry Rs 1,000,” he explained, warning that the new policy will break the back of the industry.

Riyas A J, vice-president of Bus Operators Confederation of India, national committee, will do the symbolic inauguration on Monday at the Aluva Municipal bus stand.The private bus sector fears the policy will trigger a domino effect. PBOA secretary K M Siraj expressed concern that MLAs across all 140 constituencies will now demand more ordinary KSRTC buses to satisfy local voters, pushing nearly 10,000 private operators out of business. “We’ve taken up the issue with the govt, but to no avail; they have declined to interfere. This imbalance will ultimately weaken the state’s entire public transport ecosystem,” he added.