State Government Reimburses Rs. 1444 Crore to State Transport for Senior Citizen Free Travel Scheme

Mumbai/Yavatmal: In the last 18 months, 28.10 crore senior citizens have taken advantage of the free travel scheme of State Transport buses. The government has paid Rs 1,444.53 crore to the ST as reimbursement for the initiative. 

On the occasion of 75 years of independence, the state government has announced a scheme to provide free travel by ST to senior citizens who have completed 75 years of age. ST implemented the scheme across the state from August 26, 2022. Senior citizens were allowed to board any state transport corporation bus.  Seniors took full advantage of being allowed to travel for free. 

Shortage of buses: Lalpari faces challenge
A few years ago, the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation had 18,000 buses. Gradually, they have come down to 15,000 today. Of these, 2,000 to 2,500 buses do not ply on the road every day due to various reasons. In fact, 13,500 buses are working to serve passengers. Corporation buses carry 50-52 lakh passengers daily.  

Emphasis on kilometers 
The focus will be on increasing the daily kilometers during the peak season. If the ferry of a bus is 200 kilometers, then it will be 300 kilometers and efforts will be made to reduce the congestion in the bus.