Priyadarshini Free Travel: 2.21 lakh more women passengers on June 16, scheme highly popular

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Transport Minister CP John said that an increase in women passengers was recorded after the implementation of the Priyadarshini free travel scheme on KSRTC ordinary services. Under the scheme, women can travel free on KSRTC ordinary services. The government will reimburse the ticket price to KSRTC. When comparing the figures for June 8, 15 and 16, the minister clarified in a press conference that the scheme is getting highly popular day by day.

The number of women travelling in ordinary services increased from 7.25 lakh on June 8 to 9.63 lakh on June 15 and 11.84 lakh on June 16. On June 16, 64 per cent of the total passengers in ordinary buses were women. This means that almost two out of every three passengers were women. The minister said that when compared to June 15, 2.21 lakh more women travelled on June 16, an increase of 23 per cent.

As awareness spread, women who used to travel by paying for a ticket have switched to free tickets. On June 16 alone, 11.80 lakh women travelled free as part of the Priyadarshini scheme. The total number of passengers in ordinary services also increased significantly from 14.40 lakh on June 8 to 18.56 lakh on June 16. There was a 37.8 per cent increase in the number of passengers in ordinary services when compared to the same day last week. The total number of passengers of KSRTC, including all classes, was 25.53 lakh on June 16. This is a 25.8 per cent increase compared to the previous week. The minister said that this increase in the number of passengers is mainly due to the increase in women passengers.