Bengaluru Man Questions Free Bus Rides for Women

[IdliChalo]

https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/other/be ... r-BB1rd0cV

"A man has triggered a debate online after sharing six thoughts questioning free bus travel for women in Karnataka following his journey from Bengaluru to Mysuru.

Kiran Kumar, a Bengaluru resident, shared his opinions in a post on X that has gone viral with over 1 million views so far. His post also accompanied a selfie that he took during his bus journey.

In his post, Kumar recounted his early morning trip on a comfortable Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus, which cost him Rs 210. While appreciating the "world-class highway" that ensured a swift journey, he raised thought-provoking questions about the fairness and sustainability of the state's free travel scheme for women.

Kumar observed that nearly 30 of the 50 passengers on the bus were women traveling for free by showing their Aadhaar cards. "Is this fair? Is it equality," he asked.

The remaining 20 passengers, all men, were paying the bill for the entire bus through their fare.

The post has sparked a debate on social media, with users sharing diverse opinions on the balance between welfare, fairness, and fiscal responsibility. While some praised the scheme for empowering women and encouraging their mobility, others agreed with Kumar's concerns about sustainability."

[Returning_Indian]

Just FYI, Kiran used to be an active member of previous r2i forum. He returned back to India and active in politics as well. I found his views always resonate more with one section of voters.

I am generally not in favor of freebies. But free travel for women is something I agree with. Women should be given incentive to work outside and gain independence financially. Whatever govt can do to encourage/facilitate it, should be welcomed. Ofcourse, there will be some abuse of service but that should not be the reason for its curtailment.

I am not sure about the details of service but I was under the impression that state was funding the program and not the general public. All ticket prices were uniform whether it was 20 or 50 male passengers. And any female tickets would be funded by state govt. So this question of elderly funding the ticket of video watching girl is false. but not surprised that it gained traction online. Not many people in India are in favor of female gaining independence and still want patriarchy.

[mcr]

I was under the impression that state was funding the program and not the general public.

State is reimbursing KSRTC for the women's tickets from it's treasury which of course is funded by the taxes paid by the citizen. Some people have a misunderstanding that it is the men who travel in these buses are paying for the women who is traveling for free. The tax paying citizen could be men and women. It is not exactly correct to say that the men who buys tickets in those buses are also paying for the women sitting in that bus.

I am against this indiscriminate freebie culture whose only objective is to win election. There should be some minimum criteria for these freebies like people who are below poverty line, poor students etc. Even if they wanted to give it to all women, they should have restricted to specific routes like travel to workplace, school etc. By the way, the bus travel freebie is not costing a ton of money for the stage government, what is costing too much is the 'Gruha lakshmi' scheme where every woman (one per household) irrespective of the economic status gets Rs.2000 per month. This is an irresponsible spending of tax payers money, they should have limited this only to economically backward section of the society.