Bus travel is free for women 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 plans to make bus travel free for women in most government buses.
But the implementation and rules at the ground level differ in different states. Another point of discrepancy is the extension of free facilities to transgender persons. Here’s a guide to knowing the differences and features in each state.
Understanding zero-ticket travel
‘Zero-ticket’ travel is a phrase that is common in areas that offer free travel on buses. This does not mean that tickets will not be issued. This means that the conductor will issue a ‘zero-ticket’. This is a ticket on which no fee is charged from the passenger and it is for record. In some cases, you can use a smart card issued by your local transportation authority.
Who can travel?
Verification of the passenger (linked to the geography of the beneficiary) is done by the conductor before issuing ‘zero-ticket’ to the concerned passenger. The identity proof required for free travel varies by state. But the most common ones include Aadhar Card, Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC), VB-G RAMG Job Card, Ayushman Bharat Health Card, Driving License, PAN Card, Passport, Pension document with photograph, Central/State Government/PSU identity card and identity cards issued by schools/colleges/universities.
The use of smart cards to verify the identity of passengers availing free travel on buses is also common.
The fine-print varies for each state and territory.
Tamil Nadu
Politicians distributing bus tickets to women in March 2024. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
‘Vidyal Payanam Thittam‘ The scheme was inaugurated in May 2021 under the DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) government. This includes women, disabled persons and transgender persons.
The government said that 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 the scheme. While transgender persons have undertaken 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.
The then Transport Minister in March 2026 SS Shivshankar said The number of women passengers using Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) buses has increased from 40% to 70% after the launch of the scheme.
however,State Planning Commission Report 2022 released Some issues were noted in the Tiruppur region of the state, including rude behavior by bus operators and conductors towards women availing free travel.
west bengal
Passengers show their free tickets in West Bengal in June 2026 Photo credit: ANI
West Bengal has announced free bus travel only for women in the state from June 1, 2026. ‘‘Annapurna Bhandar’Plan. It uses 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 include transgender persons.
Till the smart card is issued, showing any government issued identity card for free bus travel is an option to avail the facility.
Transport Department of West Bengal Government has not provided any data website There is no mention of free bus travel scheme for women till the date of publication.
Delhi
Women showing ‘Pink Ticket’ of Delhi Transport Corporation in April 2024. Photo courtesy: The Hindu
The national capital announced free bus travel for women and transgender persons in October 2019 under the Aam Aadmi Party government. In this, the ‘Pink Ticket’ system was implemented in which the conductor used to give pink tickets to the passengers availing the service. It was converted toPink Saheli Smart Card‘In March 2025.
But three months later, the attack occurs The Hindu Interviews with five distribution centers and applicants revealed that transgender persons are mostly unable to obtain cards despite being listed as eligible beneficiaries. Officials in four of the five centers said cards were not issued to transgender persons despite the card clearly mentioning “female/transgender”. It was only after this was told at a center that the officials agreed to issue the cards.
Punjab
Punjab launched a uniform free bus scheme for women in all government buses in 2021. Raghav Chadha, who was co-in-charge of the Aam Aadmi Party’s Punjab unit at the time, had pointed out that the scheme was a “bad copy” of the Delhi scheme implemented by the Kejriwal government.
Politics apart, the state’s transport network’s over-dependence on private buses created problems for commuters availing the scheme.
The scheme did not explicitly include transgender persons like other states.
Karnataka
Women waiting for a government-run bus in Bengaluru, Karnataka. | Photo courtesy: Murali Kumar K.
Karnataka launched ‘Shakti Yojana’ on June 11, 2023, allowing women native to Karnataka free travel in non-premium government buses operated by four state-run transport corporations—KSRTC, BMTC, NWKRTC and KKRTC. Under the scheme, women can join ordinary and express services within Karnataka by showing valid ID proof issued by the state government or any central government document confirming domicile.
However, The Hindu Noted in 2025 That smart cards have not been distributed yet. Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said the plan to issue smart cards is in place, but it is being delayed due to the lack of electronic ticketing machines (ETMs) in all buses, making implementation impossible.
Transgender people are not explicitly included in the plan.
Kerala
Mahila Morcha activists confront a KSRTC conductor during a protest at Kottayam KSRTC bus station, demanding that free travel for women be extended to all classes of KSRTC buses. | Photo courtesy: Vishnu Pratap
Kerala launched a scheme called Free Bus Travel Scheme ‘Priyadarshini Yojana‘ On June 15, 2026, both women and transgender people were covered in ordinary buses operated by the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC).
Under the scheme, women and transgender persons can travel free on seven categories of ordinary services of KSRTC: ordinary, city ordinary, limited-stop ordinary, fair-stage ordinary, town-to-town, point-to-point and gramavandi services. Ahead of the launch, stickers were pasted on eligible buses to help passengers identify services under the scheme.
A A section of passengers alleged The number of buses carrying City Fast Tags increased overnight in Thiruvananthapuram city, leaving many passengers deprived of the benefits of the scheme. He alleged that City Fast stickers were pasted on buses parked in and around Thiruvananthapuram City Depot to deprive passengers of the benefit of the free travel scheme.
However, officials clarified that the scheme is not available on City Fast services in the first phase and the stickers were pasted to help passengers identify these buses easily.
Telangana
Passengers traveling in a government bus in Hyderabad in March 2026. Photo Credit: Siddhant Thakur
Telangana launched free bus scheme for all women, girls and transgender persons, called ‘Mahalakshmi’ scheme, in December 2023.
CM Revanth Reddy releases ‘no charge tickets’, launches free travel scheme for women in TSRTC
The scheme offers free travel to women and the transgender community in most government-run buses.
However, in March 2025, auto-rickshaw union leaders said the Congress government’s electoral guarantee Mahalaxmi Yojana, which offered free travel for women in state-run buses, had eaten into their income. He claims that many drivers have taken their own lives due to immense financial stress.
A year later, in March, 2026, Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said in the Legislative Council on Wednesday that women have availed 279.97 crore free bus trips under the scheme.
Jammu and Kashmir
Passengers traveling in a government bus in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir in April 2025. | Photo Courtesy: Imran Nisar
The state of Jammu and Kashmir also launched a free bus scheme for women in some state-run buses on April 1, 2025. It works on the same ‘zero-ticket’ issue model as other states. The scheme launched by CM Omar Abdullah aims to provide comprehensive travel facilities and increase mobility to women passengers. This does not explicitly include transgender persons.
However, some of the issues with the scheme include wide rural and urban disparity in bus services, due to which passengers are unable to avail of the free-bus service.
Andhra Pradesh
A woman traveling in a government-run bus in Vijayawada. | Photo Courtesy: GN Rao
There is a free bus travel scheme for all women, girl students and transgender persons in Andhra Pradesh. It was approved by the state cabinet on August 6, 2025. The scheme covers rural and regional services palle velugu, ultra palle velugu, urban ordinary, metro expressAnd express Buses. This does not include interstate routes, long distance luxury services and chartered packages.
Cabinet approves free bus travel for women in Andhra Pradesh from August 15
It employs the ‘zero-ticket’ model that allows passengers to avail the service on showing valid ID proof such as Aadhaar card.
Some of the issues pointed out by critics of the plan include waste of the state budget and overcrowding on buses. A major focal point of the dispute is between the state transport employees unions and the government following the announcement of induction of 5,120 new electric buses operated by private operators. However, the scheme does not cover private buses as of the date of publication.
