What free bus rides mean for women

Karnataka’s Shakti scheme allowing free travel on government buses for women and gender minorities domiciled in the state has sparked off a hot debate on social media. But instead of support for the idea, the pink tickets have been like a red rag — with people (well, mostly men) arguing that such subsidies will affect the quality of public transport, and that affluent women should not get a free pass.

Mobility — with its prohibitive costs and safety concerns — keeps women at home, and is one of the reasons why India’s female labour force participation rate is 29.4% (PLFS July 2021-June 2022). A School of Planning and Architecture 2019 survey looking at the mobility of women in Delhi found that women with children look for jobs in a commuting radius of 20%, which is lower than men. The same goes for education as well — Brown University scholar Girija Borker’s 2017 study found that women in Delhi University are willing to attend a college that is 13.04 percentage points worse in quality if they feel the commute will be safer by one unit.

More women on public transport — as waiving bus ticket costs can lead to — also translates to greater public safety, points out Viswanath. She says, “All the data that Safetipin has gathered shows the increased presence of women in public spaces is a proxy for safety. Along with that, you encourage more women to be drivers and conductors, more women street vendors. You’re engendering the entire public space that is male dominated.”

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