Free to commute: A road to women empowerment 🚌🚍

Woohoo.....💪

Women in Tamil Nadu are celebrating 🎉the new policy of the newly formed government, free bus service within districts. Among all, Tirunelveli is found to have the highest number of users (beneficiaries). 👏

Without a doubt, this policy move has largely benefitted a lot of women working in unorganized sector with poor wages and job insecurity. It does save them quite a handful of money. There are women in my office who do not hesitate to take break of journeys (from a minimum of two to a maximum of four) to avail this benefit and save their daily bus fares. 👍 There are some around who used to walk several kilometers to reach office to save their hard earned remuneration. Given their jobs as sweepers and scavengers, they are now happy for being able to travel at free of cost. 🙌 There are thousands of such stories in Tamil Nadu to narrate and to be recorded on real benefits of this decision of free bus service to women within district. 

This is a baby step towards a far existing destination - women empowerment - yet a significant one. 🏆 These women who save money by using free public transport climb the first step in the ladder of financial empowerment. Besides that, the ability to travel anywhere with no cost gives a sense of social empowerment. Non-working women who are largely dependent on their husbands for money to visit anywhere - be it a temple or their parents' house - gets that tiny bit of relief now. Being socially connected is a step closer now.  👫👭👬👭

There are allegations from conductors that women began to travel with no reason as it is free. 'What's wrong in it?' is the question!!!! 

Let us (women) not allow anyone tell us 'use this freedom appropriately' for a simple reason that 'let all of us - women - step out and roam around, even if it is to pass time.'  It is not just the measurable output of a policy (such as number of beneficiaries, the routes highly used by women, etc.) is important but its outcome too (sometimes measurable, many a times not). 😊😊

Amidst such good things, never mind of

• Some men and even women claiming that this policy as one useless and waste of public tax money.🙍

• Men passengers' agitation towards free travel of women. It is heard that many men passengers are reluctant to share the common seats (partitioned portion) with women after this policy implementation. 👎

• Male conductors considering women as worthless in terms of revenue generation for transport department.😠 

• Male drivers hesitant to stop buses at stops where women crowd is seen (such behaviour is typical of our drivers during school/college hours where most of them would travel with a free pass).🙅

(These males would soon accept the fact that women of their families are availing the same too)😆

A friend of mine whose PhD thesis was on Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) in Chennai once said that there were handful of benefits in making public transportation totally free. Some of them include reduction in pollution and cost cutting by removal (or transfer) of conductors and ticket checkers. This step of making it free for women in limited jurisdiction could be a move towards free public transport.🚌  

Who could give us the best except our government!!! 🙏