IMPACT OF WOMEN PASSENGER TOWARDS TAMILNADU FREE BUS SCHEME PROVIDED BY TAMILNADU STATE TRANSPORT CORPORATION
(WITH SPECIAL REFERENCETO COIMBATORE CITY)
Dr. M. KALIMUTHU
Professor
Department of Commerce with Professional Accounting Dr. N. G. P. Arts and Science College
Coimbatore - 641048.
Mail id: kalimuthusujanias@gmail.com
S.PREETHIKA
III.B.Com (PA), Department of Commerce with Professional Accounting Dr. N. G. P. Arts and Science College
Coimbatore - 641048.
INTRODUCTION
In 1944 British Government appointed a committee to analyse public transport in the country. On 01.01.1972, Pallavan Transport commission was established under companies act 1956 and buses operated in Chennai and Chengalpattu were brought under it and paved the way for inception of other state transport undertakings. 21 state transport undertakings were created by bifurcation from 1972 to1996. Now it is functioning as eight from 2004.Tamil Nadu state transport corporation limited (TNSTC) is fully owned and operated by the government of Tamil Nadu. TNSTC owns 321 depots and 5 workshops with a combined fleet strength of21,678buses. TNSTC covers 38 districts with the road length of 2,16,352 km with 32,598 buses. The total number of daily bus passenger is around 1.6crore in Tamil Nadu, which implies there are839 daily passengers for every bus. An estimated 53 lakh passengers travels everyday in city and town buses in Tamil Nadu.
According to Government assumption, 40 percent of the passengers, or18 lakh, could be women. Tamil Nadu has become the third state in India to make public bus transport free for women after Delhi and Punjab and it is also the first state to introduce pass to travel in the corporation buses at free of cost for school students. On May 7 2021 Tamil Nadu’s honorable Chief Minister M.K.Stalin, announced the scheme that enables all women in the state of Tamil Nadu to travel free of cost in Government-owned city and town buses. The main intention of this scheme is to increase the rate of women participation in all the sectors and to promote public transportation. It is also said that it has generated ideas for women to undertake self-employment. After this government’s announcement, most of the women passengers are likely to shift from private buses to government buses. The free travel for women in town buses across the state also led to an increase in the share of women passengers from 40 percent to 61 percent.
Passenger is the occupant of a transportation vehicle other than the person operating it. Women passengers satisfaction is indefinite and a conceptual term, which will vary from one person to another and from one service to another service. Impact is the force of impression of one thing on another. Positive and negative, primary and secondary long term effects produced by a development intervention, directly or indirectly, intended or unintended.
