Women ridership on KSRTC ordinary buses saw a sharp rise on the first day of the Priyadarshini free travel scheme in Kerala, with numbers increasing by nearly six lakh compared to the previous week.
Thiruvananthapuram: On Monday, the day the free travel under the Kerala’s Priyadarshini scheme was launched, KSRTC’s ordinary buses recorded a significant surge in women passengers across Kerala. The data shows a major rise compared to the previous Monday.
A total of 13,29,938 women travelled on KSRTC ordinary buses on Monday. Of these, 7,83,115 women used the zero-ticket facility, while the remaining passengers had purchased tickets before the scheme began at 10 am.
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In comparison, the number of women passengers last Monday stood at 7,34,693, marking an increase of 5,95,245 women passengers on the day the scheme was implemented.
The government is expected to incur a liability of Rs 1,59,56,801 under the zero-ticket category for Monday alone.
The data also shows a sharp decline in male passengers. While 6,94,799 men travelled on KSRTC ordinary buses last Monday, the number fell to 2,26,673 on Monday after the scheme was introduced.
The Priyadarshini scheme, which provides free travel for women and transgender persons, covers 3,125 KSRTC ordinary buses across the state. It includes services such as ordinary, city ordinary, limited stop ordinary, point-to-point, Gramavandi, Fair Stage L.S., and Town-to-Town buses.
Published: 16 Jun 2026, 12:28 pm IST
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