West Bengal’s Opportunity: Bus Fare Subsidy Schemes Can Drive Inclusion and Local Economies

 

Kolkata : A new study commissioned by the Sustainable Mobility Network in collaboration with SwitchON Foundation and conducted by Nikore Associates finds that if bus travel were made free, 44.5% of women in Kolkata and 53.1% in Durgapur would switch to buses as their primary mode of transport, highlighting a new pathway to increase public transport usage—making mobility both sustainable and gender-inclusive—through fare subsidy schemes.

 

The report, "Beyond Free Rides: A Multi-State Assessment of Women's Bus Fare Subsidy Schemes in Urban India," is a first-of-its-kind, multi-state analysis of these schemes and is based on over 2,500 surveys and several focus group discussions and Key Informant Interviews across 10 cities in the states of Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, West Bengal, and Maharashtra^.

 

“The patterns are clear—women walking long, unsafe distances or paying for expensive shared autos to manage transport costs. A well-designed fare support scheme could reduce these trade-offs to more regular, dignified, and safer bus travel—especially for those from low-income groups,” said Vinay Jaju - Executive Director, SwitchON Foundation.

 

Key findings of the study:

·       44.5% women in Kolkata and 62.5% Durgapur currently use buses three to six times a week, underscoring a high dependence on public transport.

 

·       More than one in four women across Delhi, Bengaluru, and Hubballi-Dharwad reported switching to buses after schemes were introduced in their states.

 

·       23% of women in Bengaluru and 21% in Hubballi-Dharwad saw employment gains after the implementation of the Shakti Scheme.

 

·       One in four women on average across cities with both full- and partial-fare subsidies reported feeling safer in buses after the introduction of these schemes.

 

“When women are already relying on buses despite the financial strain, it highlights how impactful a fare support scheme could be. It’s an opportunity to scale access and agency and unlock the full potential of the public transport system, provided that valid concerns around the financial sustainability of STUs, capacity of bus fleets, gender sensitisation of frontline transport workers, and lack of universally accessible urban infrastructure are adequately addressed.” — Mitali Nikore - Founder & Chief Economist, Nikore Associates.

 

However, affordability remains a significant barrier—particularly for low-income groups who often reduce or forgo trips because of cost.

“Many domestic workers tell us that daily bus fares eat up a large part of their monthly earnings—sometimes nearly one-third of what they earn, leaving very little for food or children's education.” — Nupur Sarkar, Civilian Welfare Foundation

 

Crucially, the report challenges the belief that fare-free schemes are fiscally unviable. Evidence from states that have implemented such schemes shows that these generate strong economic returns and unlock suppressed demand.

 

With state assembly elections scheduled next year, West Bengal has a great opportunity to address demand for affordable bus travel among women through a fair bus scheme, along with targeted improvements to bus fleet capacity, monitoring systems, and infrastructure planning, to make transport more equitable and responsive to women’s mobility needs