Make free bus travel for women effective and inclusive, Greenpeace India requests CM

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Greenpeace India, a non-profit NGO, on Sunday, requested Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to ensure that the Uchita Prayana scheme is more “effective and inclusive”. It is free public transport for women. The NGO recommended that the CM make free buses for women more accessible and womenonly.

The organisation has also requested for toilets in every bus stop, besides the establishment of 11 bus lanes in the State capital. In a letter to the CM, the NGO cited safety concerns, poor routes and limited accessibility to general urban infrastructures as major barriers for women in transit, and demanded that the State-managed bus fleet be increased.

The organisation acknowledged that the scheme would benefit women, who could save 10 to 30 per cent on their monthly transportation costs, and encourage more women to use public transportation. It also appreciated the Congress party for implementing the scheme, which it had promised to do in its election manifesto, and said that free transport for women has been a tried and tested solution in states like Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Delhi, wherein the monthly income of beneficiaries significantly rose after the implementation.'

“As we take inspiration from similar state policies, we also have to ensure that we take lessons from their challenges and shortcomings,” the letter stated. However, the NGO, besides saying that there is momentum with the government to address women’s safety and the need for public transportation, also alleged that investments in urban transportation are largely gender-blind and have poor awareness of connections between transportation and gender.

“Without incorporating women’s safety, comfort, convenience and affordability in urban transit, sustainable urban development will remain unattainable,” read the letter. The NGO unfurled a 20- foot LED banner in front of the Vidhana Soudha on Sunday, which reads, ‘Bus for women, Bus for all’.