Inadequately planned cities, public places and in general, public infrastructure makes it difficult for women to be a part of the societal workings- as much as men do. There are ‘dark spots’ in cities which are not lit up are virtually inaccessible for women; Public toilets are a nightmare, and the list can go on. Safe spaces is neither a concept that is politically acknowledged nor actively demanded.
Women are the most significant, the largest number users of public transport in India, according to a World Bank. Women consider choosing the slower means of transport since it is affordable rather than choosing the fastest means of transport. This deters them from stepping out in the first place.[1]
In the quest to make spaces more accessible to women, an important part is make forms of public transport accessible and affordable to women. One part of making public transport accessible to women is by ensuring buses and other such means are running with decent frequency, during non-peak hours. This will serve those women who might not work, but for whom, traveling is essential for house work, or for those women who work as house help.
While this is one aspect, the other crucial one to making public transport more accessible to women is by controlling the pricing, thereby not only incentivising women to take the bus or such public transport, but also to incentivise them to travel-whether that be to earn or not.
Pursuant to this- the states of Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and recently, Telangana have made it free for the women to travel in buses operated as part of Public Transport. There are restrictions in some states- for example in Telangana- the free travel applies to only non-luxury buses, in Tamil Nadu-only to ordinary buses etc. Nevertheless, the Luxury/AC buses form only a minority percent of the bus fleet of the respective states.
There have been various voices that have argued against this incentivised, free bus travel scheme on different levels. While general arguments like ‘Why are there women compartments and women special buses if you want equality?’ have transformed into ‘Why is the scheme not applicable to all, and why do men have to pay?’ There are more pointed or specific arguments as well. Auto-rickshaw drivers are missing out on their livelihood due to women preferring free bus travel!
This article seeks to address these questions.
First, why incentivise and facilitate better mobility experience for women?
The free travel is to incentivise women to take public transport and be more accessible to employment, health services, education etc. The labour force participation of women is at 37% according to the latest Periodic Labour Survey Report 2022-23. This has increased from 32% last year- a significant improvement. In fact, it has increased from 2017, according to PLFS.[2] On a very obvious and basic, prima facie understanding, incentivising women to work will not only give the much-needed impetus to the economy but also can empower women in their own family and community.
Where does transport fit into this incentive? In cities with conservative norms or high crime, female workers may face greater restrictions on their physical mobility. A simple example is how many families around us in Tier II towns or even metro cities do not want the women in the family to be out of the house after 8 PM or so. There is a valid concern about the safety in many cases. In these cases, any reduction of constraint on physical mobility will have a better impact on job searching, for women.[3]
Poor transport infrastructure- lack of safe, accessible and affordable public transit-may limit women’s access to jobs. When girls from states of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh, who have dropped out even before completing secondary education, were interviewed- they stated the poor transportation facilities- unavailability of public transport, or shortage of buses, or missing bridges on swollen rivers are main reasons for dropping out.[4]
Evidently, women get a greater choice in choosing to pursue education or continue to work when there are better facilities, not just at the education centre like schools, colleges or workplaces; when there are better means to reach those establishments safely. These measures become necessary since there are societal constraints on women that restrict their choice. This is not a new paradigm. We have laws in the country that mandate that companies arrange cab service to their female employees for travel during nights, via the Shops and Establishment Act in various states.
Is it merely for economy, education and employment?
The above argument essentially is that- we have less women students and workers; and only if we facilitate their mobility etc, will we have more women in the workforce thus contributing to economy. However, contribution to economy is not the only reason why incentivising better and affordable transport infrastructure for women should be pursued.
Another important element of facilitating mobility for women has to do with making public spaces more accessible to them and facilitating their personal growth.
Female Seclusion is an entirely different problem and while it can be addressed by bringing women into the workforce on a massive scale, communities that give a sense of belonging to women do not get created wholly at work.[5] They get created in places that are safe for women to spend leisure time in, chat and be themselves. Safe public spaces do not get created by placing police personnel there, alone.
And to do this, they need accessible, affordable and safe transport to various parts of the regions they live in. Let us understand this with another example. If one spends enough time on the Social Media platform Instagram-there is a template of a reel talking about how boys just go to their friends’ home to pick them up and roam around the city with nothing to do. This is a collective memory for almost all men, across the country but not as much for women. Why? There are various reasons. Men are given access to motorcycles at an early age, parents give permission to men easily or they really don’t mind the men going out. For women, there are severe constraints on their mobility thus restricting them from experiencing their city and what it has to offer them-whether that be a late-night food joint or their chance at a meaningful friendship at a place other than school or workplace.
Facilitating mobility for women is not just for the benefit of the economy but also for the benefit and real empowerment of women, in personal and social sphere. Therefore there is no possibility for misuse of this measure. One cannot say that a woman, sitting in a bus and roaming around the city without getting down at any of the stop is a misuse of the scheme. It is in fact a very good use of the scheme since she would not be as comfortable and free to do that if it wasn’t for the safety that the bus provides.
Does making Public Transport free solve all the issues?
Facilitating mobility is not just to make public transport affordable by making it free but also to make sure that it’s accessible and safe. Accessibility can be achieved by making sure that the bus stops at the bus stop and there are enough buses for the women to board. If there are no buses or if there is a very irregular frequency of the buses, then whatever the positive impact that was expected of a measure like this would not be achieved.
More importantly, safety is a very important factor for women to consider public transport even if it is free. If there is a free public transport but not as safe, the measure will not have a positive impact. Safety could be achieved from various measures like dedicating a part of the bus fleet truth women only buses during the peak hours, or by making sure that the special buses for women are easily identifiable by their colour or such accessible indicator so that anyone with the knowledge that there are women special buses can get into them without checking if this indeed is a special bus for women or not.
Regularising women bus drivers and women conductors will also increase the safety quotient for women who take public transport.
Why should those who can afford be allowed to travel for free?
There are various reasons why this measure specifically cannot be restricted to a certain section of women that could be identified via their socio-economic status. When such identification of beneficiaries is done- not only identification is inadequate in recognising those women who might need that particular measure at a point of time, but also results in a division of beneficiaries into those who benefit from the government’s scheme and those who are paying for such governments scheme. This happens with the Public Distribution Scheme where the non-beneficiaries portray themselves as those who are paying for some charity for those who are getting food grains at affordable prices. This portrayal takes away the dignity the schemes seek to provide. Moreover, restrictions on physical mobility are a common feature of society, irrespective of whether the woman belongs to a poor family or not. There are women in wealthy families who must ask the head of the family for any and all expenses, and women in poor families who do not have the money to travel for their higher education. The problem is systemic and universal; therefore, the solution also has to be universal.
What about Rickshaw drivers and their Livelihood?
The free transport in buses for women, is quite disruptive to the extent that auto rickshaw operators protested the scheme in Karnataka and Telangana saying that their incomes have decreased, or that they are going to decrease due to the scheme. However, this also shows that the scheme is yielding positive results since women from middle- and low-income groups, who otherwise would have spent on auto rickshaws are now saving that money.
This has become troublesome for rickshaw operators who, at times, do not even own the rickshaw they operate. It is here that the government has to proactively manage the losses caused to Auto Rickshaw drivers. It could by giving them a beneficial sum of money per year, or constituting separate mechanism to look into how the costs of Auto Rickshaw drivers can be decreased.
However, this issue should not become a reason to dilute the measure of giving free public transport for women. The solution to the systemic problem of restrictions on women mobility will inevitably have its impact on the rest of ecosystem. Measures should rather be concentrated on dealing with such impact while leaving the scheme and its functioning alone to serve its purpose rather than diluting it.
(The author is a legal researcher with the organisation)
[1] World Bank Blogs. (2022). India: Making public transport more women-friendly. [online] Available at: https://blogs.worldbank.org/endpovertyinsouthasia/india-making-public-transport-more-women-friendly [Accessed 16 Dec. 2023].
[2] Pib.gov.in. (2022). Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Annual Report 2022-2023 Released. [online] Available at: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1966154 [Accessed 16 Dec. 2023].
[3] Field, E. and Vyborny, K., 2022. Women’s mobility and labour supply: experimental evidence from Pakistan. Asian Development Bank Economics Working Paper Series, (655). Available at: https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/792221/ewp-655-womens-mobility-labor-supply-pakistan.pdf [Accessed 16 December. 2023]
[4] Gupta, S. (2019). We wanted to study, but …. [online] Gaonconnection.com. Available at: https://www.gaonconnection.com/gaon-connection-tvvideos/on-daughters-day-village-girls-say-shortage-of-buses-missing-bridges-and-lack-of-transportation-on-rural-areas-are-main-problems-for-dropping-out-46299 [Accessed 16 Dec. 2023].
[5] Evans, A. (2021). Friendships and women’s liberation. [online] Brookings. Available at: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/friendships-and-womens-liberation/ [Accessed 16 Dec. 2023].
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