"Mobility is a precondition for women's economic empowerment." Using recent Time Use Survey evidence, assess how effective fare-free bus schemes for women have been in Indian States.

The cost of travel keeps many women away from jobs, colleges and hospitals. Punjab and Tamil Nadu (2021), Karnataka (June 2023) and Telangana (Mahalakshmi, December 2023) made ordinary government buses free for women [1]. The NSO's Time Use Surveys (TUS) of 2019 and 2024 give a first test of these schemes. They show that women now travel more, but it is not yet clear that this has led to economic empowerment.

Evidence of effectiveness

• Women travel more: in the four States, the share of women aged 15–59 making at least one trip a day rose from 38.7% to 45.3% (+6.6 pp). In 12 other large States it rose by only 4.4 pp [1].
• Gender gap narrowing: the mobility gap between men and women narrowed by about 2.9 pp in free-bus States. In other States it widened by about 3.2 pp [1].
• Natural experiment: Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were one State until 2014. Telangana rose from 43.7% to 54.6%. Andhra Pradesh, which had no scheme before Stree Shakti (August 2025), rose by only 0.8 pp [1].
• Self-targeting: the scheme covers only ordinary buses, so most of the benefit goes to poorer women without a means test [1].

Limitations

• A trip is not a job: the TUS counts any trip. Nationally, only 25% of women took part in employment in 2024, up from 21.8% in 2019 [2].
• Time poverty remains: women still spend about 305 minutes a day on unpaid domestic work, and 41% of women give care compared with 21.4% of men [2]. Free fares lower the cost of travel but do not give women more time.
• Association, not causation: Telangana had the scheme for about a year, yet it gained more than States that had it for three years. Local factors are also at work. Part of the narrower gap also comes from men travelling less [1].
• Strain on bus supply: Delhi also offers free rides to women. The CAG found that its DTC fleet shrank from 4,344 buses to 3,937 (2015-16 to 2022-23), with bus purchases delayed while old buses piled up [3]. Crowded buses hurt the women these schemes are meant to serve.

Overall, TUS evidence shows fare-free buses work well for mobility. Mobility is necessary for empowerment, but it is not enough on its own. States should pay transport corporations per ride and on time, fund new buses, make buses safer using the Nirbhaya Fund, support childcare, and track female labour force participation through PLFS data. Together, these steps can turn women's freedom to travel into paid work, in line with Article 15(3) and SDG 5.