Buses offering free ride for women to get uniform colour

Soon after the government issued the order to grant free ride for women on town buses, stickers were pasted announcing ‘free travel for women’ and ‘ordinary bus fare’. However, officials said that there was a possibility of women mistaking and getting into other category buses – express or deluxe – which do not offer free ride for women.

“There is a proposal to paint ordinary fare buses in a uniform colour for easy identification and to avoid confusion. All town buses across various transport corporations, including MTC, will have uniform colour. The proposal has been sent to the Transport Minister for his approval,” said a senior Transport Department official. The exact colour for the buses is yet to be decided.

The official added that the government would take a final call on whether the whole bus would be painted or only a portion or a colour sticker would be pasted. Across the State, 6,628 ordinary buses are being operated in which women passengers can travel free of cost. In Chennai, the MTC operates 1,400 ordinary buses.

The transport corporations are considering increasing the number of ordinary services and also about operating ordinary buses along new routes.