Women above 60 years of age in Uttar Pradesh may soon start getting the facility of free travel on UP State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) buses almost a year after the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) made the promise to this effect in its manifesto before the 2022 assembly elections.
Officials dealing with the issue said that the Uttar Pradesh government was most likely to earmark funds in the forthcoming budget to be tabled in the state assembly later this month to compensate UPSRTC the revenue loss it will suffer on account of ferrying women over 60 years on its buses free of charge.
The UPSRTC has already made the passenger and other related data available to the state government for necessary action.
“The government had asked us to provide the passenger data related to women above 60 and the funds it required during 2023-24 to give them a free bus ride,” a senior UPSRTC official revealed requesting anonymity.
“We have provided all the information to the government, pointing out that the corporation will need more than ₹800 crore as compensation during the forthcoming financial year if it is asked to not charge fare from elderly women,” he added.
On the basis of a survey conducted by it between March 13, 2022 and March 20, 2023, the UPSRTC estimated that on average 3,73,800 women passengers (31% of total passengers) travelled in its buses every day and 88,438 of them were above 60 years of age, which was 7% of the total passengers travelling every day.
{{/usCountry}}On the basis of a survey conducted by it between March 13, 2022 and March 20, 2023, the UPSRTC estimated that on average 3,73,800 women passengers (31% of total passengers) travelled in its buses every day and 88,438 of them were above 60 years of age, which was 7% of the total passengers travelling every day.
{{/usCountry}}The survey also found that the daily revenue generated by selling tickets to 88,438 elderly women passengers stood at more than ₹22.55 crore, the average ticket cost being ₹85 per passenger.
“We have suggested the budgetary allocation on the basis of that survey only, which means the government needs to earmark around ₹260 crore for the year,” the official said.
The corporation, it is said, was not very keen on providing free rides to elderly women travellers because the move, it feared, may cause a heavy revenue loss with uncertainty about the department concerned (the women’s welfare department in this case) reimbursing the loss regularly.
“The UPSRTC’s experience of reimbursement from various government departments has not been very good. The corporation is also yet to be compensated for the loss it suffered because of transporting 35 lakh passengers free of cost on government directives during the Covid-19 lockdown,” said another official.
The government, according to people in the know of things, was planning to fulfill all the remaining prepoll promises before Lok Sabha elections next year.