Full-Fare Subsidy in Delhi & Karnataka Boosts Women's Mobility Far More Than Maharashtra’s Half-Fare Inter-City Scheme

In Maharashtra where women are given a partial subsidy on inter-city bus travel in terms of the ‘half/half ticket scheme on bus travel, there has been modest gains in the mobility and employment of women, when compared to those states such as Delhi or Karnataka where women are allowed full-fare subsidy in bus travel within the same city, according to a new study commissioned the Sustainable Mobility Network in conjunction with Parisar and Waatavaran Foundation and carried out by Nikore Associates.

The research report was published in July 2025 and it was conducted after more than 2,500 surveys as well as focus group discussions and key informant interviews in 10 cities in Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, West Bengal and Maharashtra states. There are schemes involving women as passengers in buses provided free by the state government in Karnataka and Delhi. At the provision of the Mahila Samman Yojana, in Maharashtra, a 50 per cent concession on tickets in all state buses is offered to women. There are no subsidies in Kerala and West Bengal.

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The paper reveals that full subsidy on intracity bus travel is both cost-saving and job-creating toward women in urban centers whereas the partial subsidy such as the intercity bus travel subsidy as seen in Maharashtra did not meet the commuting of women in the daily life. It also undermines the argument that fare-free schemes are economically unsustainable by stating that fare-free schemes yield high economic pay-off and realise latent demand.

Three summary points about the study

Maharashtra on its part averagely had 42 percentage of women report not changing their travelling behaviour even with the subsidy provided by Mahila Samman Yojana.

Just 10 per cent on average of women in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur were able to travel longer distances thanks to the scheme as compared to 32 per cent of women in those cities with full-fare subsidies such as Delhi, Bengaluru and Hubballi-Dharwad.

Over a quarter of urban women in Delhi, Bengaluru and Hubballi-Dharwad have switched to buses following the subsidization of full-fares 26 per cent of the women on average across cities with both full-and partial-fare subsidies feel safer on buses as a consequence of the schemes.

Argument of the study says that bus subsidies that serve a city have a better conformation with urban women traveling patterns as opposed to subsidized intercity buses.

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It states, “In full subsidy cities, women save consistently over half of their monthly transport expenses. These savings offer meaningful budget relief, allowing women to redirect resources toward essential household needs such as food, healthcare, and children’s education….In cities such as Nagpur and Pune, where fare subsidies apply primarily to intercity or long-distance routes, average monthly savings range from ₹409 to ₹538. These limited outcomes are due to a misalignment between subsidy coverage and women’s actual travel patterns, as most of their trips occur within the city limits and are linked to work-related responsibilities. These daily, short-distance journeys often remain fully paid, which limits the overall effectiveness of the subsidy. "

Ranajit Gadli, Programme Director at Parisar, an NGO working in the field of urban mobility, said, “Subsidies on intercity travel help very little with the everyday reality of getting to work, caregiving, or running errands. The demand is for complete fare subsidies on regular, daily routes. Pune and Mumbai’s recent fare hike and the ridership drop after it are important indicators of the role of fares in accessibility to public transport in general. Also, the fact that cities don’t have gender-specific data limits our ability to gauge the impact of such decisions on women.”

The paper asserts that Maharashtra can extend its scheme to cover journeys within the city to ensure solutions to the situations of mobility of urban women. But it also cautions that full subsidies have also caused a strain in operations: congestion, safety and personnel attitudes and a tendency to crowding without corresponding enhancements in capacity.

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