Over 12 lakh women in Andhra use 'Stree Shakti' free bus service in first 30 hours

Amaravati | Over 12 lakh women used the free bus travel facility in Andhra Pradesh within the first 30 hours of the launch of ‘Stree Shakti’ scheme, an official source has said.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu launched ‘Stree Shakti’ (women’s power) on August 15 at Pandit Nehru Bus Station in Vijayawada. The scheme offers free travel on select bus services to all girls, women and transgender persons holding Andhra Pradesh domicile status.

“Stree Shakti free bus service launched by the Andhra Pradesh government is a grand success. In the past 30 hours, over 12 lakh women travelled free of cost in APSRTC buses,” the source told PTI on Saturday.

Incidentally, the Chief Minister is keenly reviewing the free bus service regularly while it has been estimated that the beneficiaries have saved up to Rs 5 crore on the first day of ‘Stree Shakti’ implementation.

‘Stree Shakti’ is estimated to cost Rs 1,942 crore annually and Rs 162 crore per month, with the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) set to recover the amount by submitting the issued zero-fare tickets to the state government for reimbursement.

This scheme will allow the beneficiaries to travel across the state in the five categories of Pallevelugu, Ultra Pallevelugu, City Ordinary, Metro Express and Express services of APSRTC.

Following requests from women, Naidu directed officials to extend free bus services on ghat routes as well, though this facility was not offered by APSRTC initially, owing to expected rush, the source added.

According to A Appala Raju, Executive Director (operations) of APSRTC, around 76,000 beneficiaries availed the free bus service on the first day and around five lakh by 3 pm on Saturday while the total free ridership in the first 30 hours was over 12 lakh.

The monetary value of the five lakh zero-fare tickets issued till 3 pm today, starting from 12 midnight, is about Rs 2.5 crore.

Raju said the response was good today. But noted that many beneficiaries may not have availed the free service owing to Janmashtami festival.

He anticipated a similar trend on Sunday and said Monday, being a working day, could reflect the scheme's actual demand.

Starting Monday, August 18, the southern state is expecting a large number of women employees availing the free bus ride.

In addition to Aadhar cards, the government is expected to accept other identity documents which establish local domicile status of the beneficiaries for issuing the zero-fare tickets.

The APSRTC officials are also likely to accept photocopy of Aadhar while the government is considering allowing soft copies displayed on mobile phones, said the source.

Ration card and driving license are also accepted by bus conductors.

According to Raju, zero-fare tickets issued by APSRTC conductors are updated in real-time on the road transportation corporation’s systems as the transporter’s ticketing system is a web-based one.