Free Bus Tickets For Women Are A Need, Not Charity

Meghna Pant, award-winning author, journalist and speaker

As soon as evening comes, a woman standing at a bus stop in India starts looking towards the sky before reading the route number of the bus. Not because she is worried about the rain, but because in the dark the meaning of everything changes for women here. A man who goes out at night is considered a normal person traveling here, but if a woman goes out after the sun sets, questions start to arise. Where are you going? Why are you alone? Who is waiting?

That is why the recently launched schemes in Bengal providing free bus travel to women are important. Their importance is not because bus tickets are expensive, but because for women in India, going out is more of an emotional matter than a need for transportation. And if we look at it this way, even just Rs 40 can be the difference between debt and respect for millions of women.

No woman leaves the house just to go to work. She may also be moving towards self-reliance and possibilities. She may be moving towards her right to exist in the world without anyone’s permission. She may be changing two buses across the city to take care of her arthritis-stricken mother.

Perhaps she may have re-enrolled in some course she had abandoned after marriage. Or perhaps she is traveling for a better paying job. Or maybe you are going to your sister’s place to spend some time in peace, away from an abusive husband. And it is also possible that after the office, she just sat on the beach for a few moments of peace, because when she returns home, the sink is filled and the utensils are waiting for her, which is her unpaid work.

Well, many men do not understand this, because public places in India have always been considered theirs. You can see this everywhere. They park vehicles all over the footpath. Where women walk with baby prams, they ride bikes.

Many of them have accepted the city walls as public toilets built for their convenience. They can usually be seen spitting and drinking without any hesitation on the streets, railway stations, stairs and corners. You will find signs of men’s presence everywhere in public places – loud, without hesitation and without question. Whereas women are taught to confine themselves, avoid eye contact, return home before dark.

Barring a few cities like Mumbai – where the presence of women in public places is considered relatively normal – even today most cities in India seem to be empty of women after 6-7 pm – if they are not accompanied by a man. A woman alone at night is still considered unusual, or worse, an invitation.

Therefore, when governments start schemes like ‘Pink Ticket’ i.e. free bus travel for women, it is not charity. This is not a freebie. This is a small but revolutionary announcement that women also have the right to travel. They have the right to live and be seen in cities.

But security cannot be limited to tickets alone. Adequately lit bus stops, CCTV, women conductors, security personnel, panic buttons and reliable last mile connectivity are also required. Because often the most risky journey for a woman is going from the bus stop to home alone. (These are the author’s own views)

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