Free bus travel for women in Tamil Nadu: Groups demand extension of scheme in hills
Earlier this month, a meeting of associations of farm labourers, construction labourers and tribal community unions unanimously passed a resolution demanding a free bus travel scheme for women passengers in the hilly regions of Tamil Nadu. The meeting was held on December 4 in Thalavady panchayat of Erode district.
"The income of people who live in hills is comparatively lower than the earnings of those who dwell on plains. The cost of bus tickets is an extreme burden to women who need to visit banks, Public Health Centers (PHCs) and travel for work. While women in the plains have the opportunity to travel free of cost in the city buses, women in the hills are still paying for the bus tickets,” the resolution said.
The associations requested Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin to look into the issue and initiate steps to implement the free bus travel scheme for women who live in hilly regions of the state. Representatives and leaders from Kottadai, Mavallam, Kethesal, Hassanur, Arepalaiyam, and Ongalwadi participated in the meeting which passed the resolution.
Bus fares in TN were hiked in 2018 after a six year gap and the minimum fare starts at Rs 6. While the minimum bus fare for ordinary mofussil buses earlier was Rs 5, it became Rs 6 after the hike. In the Ghat sections, passengers have to pay an additional 20% — a minimum of Rs 7.20 in place of Rs 6.
TNM spoke to the union members, members of tribal communities and women farmers to know how much they spend on bus travel and the struggles due to unavailability of enough buses.
Maadevi (49), member of a Urali tribe from Bangalathotti of Hasanur, told TNM that she spends nearly Rs 2,500 on public transportation to travel to the tribal villages where she does social work. She assists the tribes to get pensions and helps the uneducated community members to get government schemes, and certificates, and also runs tuition for the tribal kids.
"In Thalavady taluk, we have nearly 49 tribal villages spread across 11 panchayats. Contributions by women to agriculture in these areas are high but they get only minimum wage. With soaring prices of essentials, they need to set aside a huge amount of their income for bus transportation," she added. She said the women from these villages are not even asking for free transportation up to Sathyamangalam, which is the nearest big town for them. "We are requesting the government to implement the scheme at least to travel to interior villages," Maadevi said. Farm workers in the region earn between Rs 200 and Rs 320 per day.
Mohan Kumar, district coordinator, Tamil Nadu Tribal People Association, Erode, said the government should consider implementing a free bus travel scheme for women in hilly areas. "There are nearly 230 villages in Sathyamangalam hills. Out of them, 85 villages are inhabited by people from Urali, Sholagar, Irualar, and Kurumbar tribes. Many tribal women are involved in farming and MGNREGA work. This scheme is not supporting women who are from marginalised and economically backward areas. The government cannot simply deny the implementation of the scheme to them just because hills do not have city bus services," Mohan said. In many hilly areas, the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) runs mofussil bus services from the nearest cities and towns. Villagers who are residing in the hills avail of this bus service for travel needs.
P Paramasivam, general secretary of Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU), Valparai town, said the non-implementation of the scheme affects nearly 8,000 working-class women in Valparai and neighbouring hilly villages in Coimbatore. Estate workers too depend on public transportation. Earlier this year, Coimbatore District Estate Workers Association, which is affiliated with the CITU, demanded free bus travel for women to be implemented in the Valparai area. Citing the plight of tea plantation women workers, Paramasivam said their contribution in private and TANTEA estates is significant. “But their wages are quite low and they have to pay for bus transportation even for work. Whenever we raise questions on the implementation of the scheme, the transport officials simply say it cannot be implemented in the hill areas," he said. A woman working in a TANTEA estate is eligible for a daily wage of Rs 340. Private estates pay Rs 390 per day. Paramashivam said CITU sent petitions to the CM’s office, Minister Senthil Balaji, who is DMK's district in-charge of Coimbatore, and to the District Collector. "But there is no response from the government as well as the district administration," he said.
Unlike Valparai and Sathyamangalam, women in several areas of the Nilgiris are availing this scheme. “We can access the free buses from Ooty to Kandhal, Thalaikundah, and Elkhill only. To travel further, or to travel to the Hattis (Badaga Villages), women have to pay," said Nandhini, a lawyer from Ooty.
Even in the popular hill station, the women have to pay high transportation charges and also suffer from a lack of frequent bus services. “Most of the time we rely on two-wheelers but obviously, the tribal people who dwell in tribal hamlets like Karikkaiyur, where the buses are not frequent, suffer more than us. Either they have to pay for the tickets or have to pay for the jeeps, in which the charges are hefty, in the time where the prices of every essential are hiked,” said Divya, who works in Kotagiri.
“Not having enough buses in the hilly areas is one problem. Besides, we need to spend nearly Rs 1,000 or Rs 1,500 for the bus fare to commute from one area to another,” said Kanishka, who works in a post office in Kilkotagiri. “To deliver letters, first I need to travel to Sholur Mattam and from here I need to further commute to Karikkaiyur, a tribal hamlet in Kotagiri taluk in Nilgiris. The amount I spend on transportation is Rs 40 per day. So it costs me nearly Rs 1,000 per month,” she said.
Jayamala, a member of Irula tribe from Aracode village said she has to pay Rs 50 for a single-way trip to Kilkotagiri in Jeep as only three buses reach their hamlet per day. If we miss the bus either we have to pay for a jeep or walk. But there is not much difference between paying for a jeep and paying for public transportation. “We have heard about the free bus travel scheme for women, but I don’t know whether it will be implemented here,” Jaya said.
Tamil Nadu government introduced cost-free tickets for women passengers to commute in the government-owned city and town buses in 2021. This move was considered significant since it helped women in the unorganised sector and lower socio-economic background reduce the monthly transportation cost. On various occasions, MK Stalin has said that the scheme is not a freebie but an economic revolution. During the third State Planning Commission meeting, in August, he said the scheme has helped the women to save their income up to 12%. He also stated that over 80% of the beneficiaries of the free bus travel for the scheme were from Backward Classes and Adi Dravidar communities.
A field survey conducted by the State Planning Commission between August 4 and August 30 this year found that women passengers in Nagapattinam, Madurai, and Tiruppur who enjoy a free bus travel scheme save an average of Rs 888 every month. M Vijayabaskar, an additional full-time member of the Planning Commission, who conducted the study, found the savings of women passengers who work in different sectors range from Rs 756 to Rs 1,012 per month. The three districts selected for the study how women from different landscapes with different livelihoods and opportunities benefitted from the scheme. While Nagapattinam was selected to observe how women in the agriculture belt travel, Tiruppur was chosen to see how women in industrial belts avail the scheme. Madurai was selected for being a major trading centre and a tourist destination.