Hyderabad: Zero ticketing for women who will travel free in TSRTC buses began in the state on Friday. The free bus travel for women under the Maha Lakshmi scheme is one of the Six Guarantees that the Congress promised ahead of the Assembly elections.
Though the scheme was rolled out last Saturday, the issue of physical zero tickets began on Friday. The bus conductor will issue the zero ticket when the women present their identity card showing them as local residents.
The free bus travel has become an enormous success as it could help many families to save between Rs 2,000 and Rs 4,000 every month on an average. The scheme is also expected to help TSRTC to come out of losses as the government would reimburse the cost of zero tickets.
According to a TSRTC official, the corporation has updated its software to implement the free bus travel. On day one, the zero tickets were issued through the machines. The corporation urged the women passengers to carry Aadhaar card, voter ID card and other identity cards to prove their identity. From now, it is mandatory to have zero tickets.
TSRTC conductors did not force any woman to show the ID card to avail this scheme till now from the day the scheme was started.
The TSRTC official said the success of the scheme is visible to everyone. Women in groups are planning temple towns, visiting relatives or picnic spots within the state. It has also made the life easy for low-income earners, and the student community.
