Kerala’s new Chief Minister VD Satheesan has signed off on free bus travel for women on KSRTC buses, fulfilling a key UDF election manifesto promise within hours of taking office.

The landmark decision was announced after the first cabinet meeting chaired by the newly sworn-in Chief Minister. From June 15 onwards, women across the state will be able to travel free of charge on all KSRTC buses, including long-distance Fast Passenger services.

The scheme, part of the broader Indira Guarantee project outlined in the UDF election manifesto, marks the government’s swiftest implementation of a poll promise. CM Satheesan has instructed officials to prepare a detailed project report urgently.

KSRTC CMD Pramod Shankar met with the Chief Minister at his Thiruvananthapuram office to discuss the operational aspects, including financial viability and technical requirements. The government is working on expanding the free travel benefit to as many bus categories as possible while addressing concerns about the impact on private bus operators, especially in the Malabar region where private buses dominate.

The initiative is modeled on similar successful schemes implemented by Congress governments in Karnataka and Telangana. If fully operationalized by the June 15 deadline, it would be a historic achievement for the VD Satheesan administration.