Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan will flag off the ‘Priyadarshini’ free bus travel scheme for women in ordinary services conducted by the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) at the Thampanoor bus station on Monday (June 15, 2026) morning.

He will then travel on the bus crewed by women from Thampanoor to the Secretariat.

The scheme will be available for all women and transgender persons who will be issued ‘zero’ fare tickets onboard buses designated to be part of the scheme, which is one of the Indira Guarantees of the United Democratic Front (UDF) government, according to Transport Minister C.P. John.

Of the 3,125 KSRTC ordinary buses, which will allow free commute for women and transgender people, 687 are in Thiruvananthapuram district, 415 in Kollam and 325 in Ernakulam. Mr. John said the entire cost of the scheme will be borne by the State government.

CPI(M) to boycott inauguration

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], the lead party in the Opposition, will boycott the inaugural event. CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan told the media that the UDF government had failed to fulfil its election promise to provide free travel for women on all KSRTC services.  

“They said women could travel anywhere. Now it has been limited to around 1,000 buses. There are only a limited number of ordinary category buses in north Kerala, while most of them are in Thiruvananthapuram,” he said.

Mr. Govindan alleged that the government had misled the public by diluting its poll promises. 

“They promised ₹21,000 for Accredited Social Health Activists, but only a marginal increase was given,” he said. 

“What they promised is not being implemented. We are pointing this out critically. We will not cooperate with the programme as it amounts to deceiving the people,” he added. 

Responding to the criticism, Mr. John invoked the proverb: “when destruction is near, the mind works in the wrong direction.” “What can we do? We request them to change their stand,” he said.

(With PTI inputs)