One of the key promises made by TDP president and now Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu during the election campaign was offering free bus travel within state for women of all age groups. This freebie in the manifesto of NDA coalition in Andhra Pradesh gained massive traction and played a significant role in the landslide victory against the formidable YSR Congress party led by Jagan Mohan Reddy.
As free bus travel to women is one of the 6 poll promises in the manifesto, there is a lot of pressure on Naidu and his government to roll out the scheme as soon as possible. The YSRCP supporters and leaders have already launched a negative campaign against Naidu’s government to implement the promises in the ‘Super Six’ agenda that was promoted extensively during the election campaign.
Immediately after taking oath as the Chief Minister of the state, Naidu directed officials to assess the underlying factors involved by studying the outcome in neighbouring states like Telangana and Karnataka, which have already implemented the scheme, and explore the possibilities to roll out the same here in Andhra Pradesh.
After a thorough and detailed study, officials have reportedly come to a conclusion that the government will need to bear the burden of Rs 250 Crores every month if this scheme is implemented. As per their assessment, close to 40 percent of daily travellers will be Women population and this translates to 15 lakhs in number.
Just like in Karnataka and Telangana, where the scheme is applicable to all types of services including the city buses and metro expresses in Hyderabad and Bengaluru, Andhra Pradesh government is also planning to issue similar guidelines including the city buses in Vijayawada and Vishakapatnam. Issue of ‘Zero Ticket’ to women commuters like in Telangana is proposed as well.
Going by the initial assessment, the government will need to reimburse 250 Crores to the AP Road Transport Corporation every month to fulfill the free bus service scheme for women. At present, the monthly revenue from APSRTC is nearly 500 Crores and the government is spending around 375 Crores for salaries and maintenance including fuel charges. So, if the scheme is implemented, the government should give back another 125 Crores in return to meet the burden.
Chief Minister Naidu will review the report on Monday and a key decision is likely to be made after the meeting.