On the first day of the rollout of the scheme for women to travel free of cost in ordinary city buses on Saturday, the Coimbatore Division of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) did not paste the stickers announcing the new scheme on the buses, causing confusion among women passengers.
“Many women were unaware that the scheme was starting (on Saturday),” said G.S. Lalitha, secretary of the women’s wing of Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (TPDK).
She said that members of the TPDK women’s wing issued pamphlets and chocolates to women at Gandhipuram Town Bus Terminus announcing the scheme, following which they travelled free of cost from Gandhipuram to Pappanaickenpalayam in the city.
Ms. Lalitha said that two young women boarded the bus at Pappanaickenpalayam and asked for tickets to the conductor.
”We gave them chocolates and they asked why, after which we told them about the scheme and they were surprised,” she said.
A TNSTC official said that the women were allowed to travel for free in 447 city buses on Saturday.
He noted that the scheme is not applicable for the 180 deluxe ‘red buses’ that were being operated in Coimbatore.
The production of stickers highlighting that women can travel for free in the ordinary city buses in Coimbatore ran into delays and would be ready in a few days, the official said.
“After the two-week lockdown, we will ensure that all the eligible buses would bear these stickers,” the official said.