Employed Women Benefitting From Travelling Allowance Must Pay Fares

By Hayat Ubaid

Srinagar, Sep 15: The government’s “smart bus project” was launched with the promise of safe, modern, and accountable public transport. But on the ground, it is raising more questions than answers.

One major issue is that many employed women, who already receive travelling allowance from their offices, are being allowed to travel free of cost. This means the government is paying them for travel and, at the same time, giving them free rides. In simple terms, taxpayers’ money is being spent twice on the same journey. Shouldn’t that fare be collected and deposited back into the government treasury instead?

The buses also face overcrowding, often to unsafe levels. Women passengers—especially students and working women—complain of harassment during peak hours. While private mini-bus operators are fined heavily for overloading and breaking rules, government-run buses are rarely held to the same standard. It creates an obvious double standard: are rules only for private drivers, and not for the government’s own vehicles?

Passengers and transport experts alike are now demanding fairness. They say public transport should have one simple principle: equal rules for everyone. Whether private or government-run, every bus must ensure safety, collect fares properly, and operate responsibly.

The government cannot remain silent on these questions. Why are employed women, already benefitting from allowances, exempt from paying fares? Why are safety rules applied to private buses but ignored in government ones? And why should the common taxpayer carry the cost of mismanagement?

Until these issues are addressed, the promise of “smart buses” will remain only on paper.