Record increase in patronage of women in KSRTC on the day of the launch of the Priyadarshini programme

Women passengers on a KSRTC bus in Kozhikode after the launch of the ‘Priyadarshini’ program for women and transgender people on Monday (June 15). | Photo Credit: PTI/@kcvenugopalmp/X

The inaugural day of the Priyadarshini scheme, introduced by the state government on KSRTC Ordinary buses from Monday (June 15), saw unprecedented female ridership. The company issued tickets to a total of 13.29 million female passengers, an increase of 81% compared to the 7.34 million female passengers who traveled on the same day the previous week (June 8).

Of the 13.29 lakh passengers who traveled on the day the scheme was launched, zero tickets were issued to 7.83 lakh women to avail the benefits of the scheme.

Meanwhile, the number of male passengers fell to 2,26,673 on Monday as against 6,94,799 male passengers on June 8. While the number of female passengers increased by 5,95,245 on Monday, the number of male passengers decreased by 4,68,126, a decline of 67%.

However, the total number of commuters saw only a slight increase, with 15,56,611 passengers traveling on 15 June compared to 14,29,492 on 8 June. Also, the revenue collection fell to ₹2.79 crore on 15 June from ₹3.23 crore on 8 June.

KSRTC suffered a revenue loss of ₹2.20 crore on the first day after the system was launched. However, the state will compensate the loss.

According to officials, the increase in female passengers and the corresponding decrease in male passengers was due to higher seat occupancy by women using the system, prompting many male passengers to opt for other bus categories.

Under the ‘Priyadarshini’ programme, women and transgender persons can travel free on seven categories of KSRTC services: Ordinary, City Ordinary, Limited Stop Ordinary, Fair Ground Ordinary, City to City, Point to Point and Gramavandi services. The scheme, which was promised in the UDF election manifesto, was launched by Chief Minister VD Satheeshan on Monday.

Published – 16 Jun 2026 23:35 IST