Divya Arvind, Researcher

In May 2021, the Tamil Nadu government launched a scheme that made public city and town buses (with certain caveats) free for women. While the rides are completely free (with no restrictions on the number of trips per day or month), the scheme is applicable only on ‘white board’ buses. The white board buses are what are known as Ordinary Bus Routes and represent the most inexpensive category of service that halts at all bus stops on a given route.

Urbanization in India was at a high of 31.16% between 2001 and 2011 (Census of India, 2011). This rapid urbanization is reflected at the local level - Tamil Nadu is one of the most urbanized states with 44% of people living in cities like Chennai (Census of India, 2011). Unfortunately, this has also meant that cities have become very crowded, polluted spaces where everything is at a premium - education, housing, transport, food, water - the list goes on.