Her husband, a shopkeeper, leaves for work every morning, while her two children, both college students, are busy with their own lives. “We have nothing to do at home. It’s better to visit the Golden Temple. We finish our chores in the morning and leave for the pilgrimage. And we are back by evening,” she said, as her companions nodded in agreement.

“The government has provided this facility, and we also pay a lot in taxes. So, what’s the harm in availing of it?” she remarked, admitting that her travel frequency has increased significantly since the scheme started.

The bus conductor, who requested anonymity, noted a sharp rise in female passengers since the scheme’s rollout.

“The number of women has doubled. On Sundays, especially on the Mohali-Amritsar route, most women are heading to the Golden Temple, Durgiana Mandir, or gurdwaras in Jalandhar. Many ask if the bus can drop them directly at these destinations. Today, till Jalandhar, I collected Rs 6,585 in fares from men. For women, I issued tickets worth Rs 11,880, but since they travel for free, they don’t pay. The amount for women’s tickets is almost double that of men’s collections. On days of religious significance, especially on routes to Amritsar, women account for over 70 percent of passengers.

“However, many women don’t necessarily need to travel. Since it’s free, they board buses just to go anywhere. This scheme is straining the transport system. Earlier, repairs were prompt, but now we often face delays due to a lack of spare parts, like tires. Mechanics sometimes cannibalise parts from one bus to repair another. The system is under pressure,” he said.

Thirty-five-year-old Sheela Rani travels 120 km daily, starting at 5:30 am from Patiala to Mohali, where she works as a house help. The free travel scheme enables her daily commute at no cost.

“I prefer working in Mohali because wages are higher here than in Patiala. Thanks to the free bus travel scheme, many like me can travel long distances every day without spending a rupee,” she said.

Mandeep Kaur, a 30-year-old woman from Jhanjheri village in Kharar, also benefits from the scheme. “I take a government bus every morning to reach Mohali for work and return in the evening. There are no job opportunities in our village. Ever since this scheme started, many women like me have stepped out, traveling long distances daily for work. The money I earn helps educate my children and provide for their needs. I can also visit my mother often in Samana Kalan village in Ropar without worrying about travel expenses,” she said.

“Every day, I see many women at bus stops waiting for government buses. Sometimes, the buses are full of women. This scheme has empowered scores of women, giving them the freedom to meet relatives, visit religious places, and travel independently,” Mandeep added.

As per official record of Department of Transport, Punjab, over 3 lakh women avail of the facility of free bus travel daily. Nearly 11 crore women availed of the facility during the 2023-24 fiscal.

While the free bus travel facility is a boon for women, especially for the economically poor strata, it is also a boon for several courier companies, that have made use of the facility by engaging women as couriers. The department of transport, after a study of the entire scheme, found that the scheme had helped courier companies save lakhs on transport. “They have engaged women as couriers. They criss-cross the state every day, carrying bags of packers to be transported. They just pay them daily wages. Their packages are delivered without them spending any money on transport. This has come to our notice. While the state exchequer is bleeding, the courier companies are making hay,” said an official of the government.

He added that there were reports of women traveling unnecessarily. The free travel has prompted several YouTubers to make videos of women making a beeline for catching a bus. In one such video, a YouTuber is heard saying that a woman travels from Patiala to Bathinda only to get cheaper vegetables. “There are several such instances where women just go to participate in a mela like Chhapar in mandi Ahmedgarh from Amritsar. The travel does not cost them anything but they are able to reach the destinations of their choice,” said an official.

While the women are benefiting, and the populist scheme proves to be a boon for them and the courier companies, it is a bane for the state exchequer as well as the private bus operators. The populist scheme has bled the state transport undertaking (STU) dry. Dues running in crores of rupees, to be reimbursed by the state government to the service providers, often get delayed. The government owed PRTC alone Rs 250 crore till a few weeks ago. The dues were finally cleared later.

Chairman of PEPSU Road Transport Corporation (PRTC), Ranjodh Singh Hadana, said that there was no dearth of money. “The government has been clearing our dues. The employees have not gone on strike in the past two years for delayed salaries. On Diwali, we released their salaries two days before the festival.” He added that the PRTC’s income from bus fare is Rs 2.5 crore every day. “The women may be costing us over Rs 1 crore but I am saying this off hand. I have to prepare for a function tomorrow. I am busy there,” he said.

The free bus travel costs the state about Rs 600-700 crore every year. In the budget for 2024-25 fiscal, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema had set aside Rs 450 crore for free bus travel. The state, already burdened with a huge power subsidy bill of Rs 20,000 crore annually, finds an additional bill of Rs 600-700 crore on the free travel for women.

It is often debated if the free travel should be allowed only to the women belonging to lower economic strata and income tax payees should be made to pay. But the government has not been able to take a decision. The government is also getting reports of bus conductors showing maximum women travelers by buses from the start point to the destination and pocket the bus fare paid by men travelers themselves. “We are planning to tighten our nose against such conductors. We will soon have a bus ticket management system to provide real time data of beneficiaries,” said an official.

The private bus operators have often complained that the free bus travel had cost them their business as all women were choosing government buses. If they were accompanied by male members, then they also preferred to take government buses.

Free bus travel for women in Punjab was rolled out by former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh in April 2021. All woman residents of the state, all woman family members of Punjab government employees and women employees themselves, who are residing in Chandigarh are given benefit of free travel irrespective of age and income in state transport undertakings (STU) including PRTC, PUNBUS and Punjab Roadways within the state of Punjab. The three undertakings have a fleet of 3,000 buses.

The scheme is not applicable to government-owned AC Buses, Volvo Buses and HVAC Buses. A woman needs to provide a proof of being a bona fide resident of the state. This could include Aadhaar card, voter card or any other documents. Punjab is among six states providing free travel facility to women, besides Delhi, Karnataka, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Punjab Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar said, “The best way to give financial independence to a woman is by giving her access to modes of transportation and communication. Often we talk about ‘economic burden’ when it comes to providing accessibility by free bus services to women but we forget that how much financial independence it is providing to women. Moreover, women have a tendency to save and invest, whatever bus fare they are saving through this scheme might be helping them to invest in their own business or invest in their child’s education or at least giving them freedom from being dependent on their male counterparts for travel allowance.”

On the scheme being misused, he said, “The scheme was started with good intentions to maximize the accessibility of transportation to women. We have come across the incidences of misuse of this scheme as well wherein our staff have caught hold of black sheep and taken appropriate actions. The scheme is well accepted among women and is providing excellent results. Those who are found misusing this scheme, law will take its own course.”

Dr Deepak Kumar, Head of Sociology and Social Anthropology Department, Punjabi University, Patiala, said that the scheme had helped women in some way. “We have girl students in the university, who are coming from far off districts now. They can travel hassle-free, without spending anything. There is no hassle of making passes. That way it has helped. But the talk from the rural areas is that the womenfolk in the family are always on the move. They are out to meet relatives. The rural folks feel that women are doing much more than they normally do. It also suits the families where they send women to attend functions at relatives. The scheme has given especially rural women the space and mobility.”

But the political parties should not think that they have done something great for the women, “At the anecdotal level, they are able to travel. But has it ensured women safety at night? Has it made them feel safe to travel at night? No. It has not addressed larger issues like treating women on a par with men at the place of labor.

He said the women were not hankering for such sops. “Free bus travel was never a part of political discourse in the state. Women never demanded it. I would rather think that a multi-pronged strategy for greater good of women, setting up of working women hostels, their employability, skill development can help the governments of the day to empower women. Political parties just find such schemes more convenient as a short-term measure towards gender equality while the real issues are lost,” he added.