UP launches free bus travel for women 60+ under Lokmata Ahilyabai Yatra

Lucknow, August 28: The Yogi Government has started the facility of free travel in ordinary buses of the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation for women aged 60 years and above across the state. As another major relief for these women, the government has decided that they will not have to wait for any special card to avail themselves of this facility. Eligible women passengers will be able to travel free of cost in buses from Friday (August 28) by showing their Aadhaar Card or Voter ID Card to establish their age. This arrangement has been implemented under the ‘Lokmata Ahilyabai Matru Shakti Yatra Yojana’.According to the Transport Corporation, during the journey, an eligible woman will have to show her Aadhaar Card or Voter ID Card to the conductor. The conductor will verify the age based on the date of birth recorded in the document and issue a zero-value ticket through the ETIM machine. No fare will be charged from the woman passenger for this ticket. The ticket will contain necessary details including the bus number, place of commencement of the journey and destination.The Transport Corporation said, "This free travel facility will be valid in the ordinary category of both Corporation-operated and contracted buses. Issuing a zero-value ticket for every free journey will be mandatory so that a complete record of the journey remains digitally available on the MIS/cloud-based data server. This will help maintain transparency in the implementation of the scheme and facilitate monitoring of travel-related data."Raksha Bandhan: CM Yogi Adityanath Celebrates 'Bitiya Aur Bahna' Sneh Bandhan With Schoolgirls In LucknowThe Transport Corporation will separately undertake the process of issuing smart cards to eligible beneficiaries. However, a smart card has not been made mandatory for immediate access to free travel. At present, women can avail themselves of the scheme by establishing their eligibility through an Aadhaar Card or Voter ID Card. The Corporation has directed all conductors to be informed about the eligibility criteria and document verification process under the scheme.According to the Corporation's instructions, no fare shall be demanded or collected from an eligible woman passenger under the scheme. If fare is wrongly collected from an eligible woman, action will be taken. Regional officers and depot in-charges will conduct regular monitoring to ensure transparency in the implementation of the scheme.If you want, I can also make this more publication-ready in standard UP government press release English while keeping every fact and figure unchanged.

Lucknow, August 26: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath gave a special gift to the mothers, daughters and sisters of the state on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan. He said that free travel will be available in Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation and city buses from 6 am on August 27 until midnight on August 29. Female passengers will be able to travel free of cost with one companion in Corporation buses. On this occasion, the CM launched the ‘Lokmata Ahilyabai Matrushakti Yatra’ and flagged off special buses. Women above 60 years of age traveled free of cost on these buses.At the program organized at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan on Wednesday, the Chief Minister flagged off the special buses amid rain. When the women on the buses greeted the CM with folded hands in gratitude for this gift, CM Yogi also waved and thanked them. During this, the Chief Minister also took selfies with the women traveling on the bus.At the program organized ahead of Raksha Bandhan, the Chief Minister presented smart cards on the stage to women aged 60 years or above under the ‘Lokmata Ahilyabai Matrushakti Yatra’ scheme. As gifts, the CM also gave these women bags, sarees and sweets. The Chief Minister interacted with the women, enquired about their well-being, and also extended Raksha Bandhan greetings to everyone. Among the women who received gifts from the CM were Rajrani, Ganesh Devi, Kalawati, Mithana, Prabhudei, Shammi, Shanti Devi, Manjulata, Shivkali, Draupadi and Meera.

Lucknow, August 26: Women aged 60 years and above in the state will now no longer have to worry about paying fares to travel to Ayodhya, Kashi, or anywhere else in the state. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday launched the Lokmata Ahilyabai Matrushakti Yatra Yojana at a programme held at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan. On the occasion of Rakshabandhan, all women will also receive the facility of free bus travel with one co-passenger from August 27 to 29. The enthusiasm of the women who attended the programme after the launch of the scheme was remarkable. During the interaction with the Chief Minister, several women became emotional and said that they would no longer have to depend on anyone for travel. During this time, enthusiastic daughters said, “We are proud of Yogi Ji.” As soon as they saw the CM, sisters, daughters, and elderly women raised the chant of “Har Har Mahadev.”Even after the special facility being provided on the occasion of Rakshabandhan, free travel for women aged 60 years and above will continue. They will be able to travel free of cost within the state on Transport Corporation buses by showing their voter card or Aadhaar card.मिठाना देवीGanesh Devi of Gosainganj expressed happiness over the Chief Minister’s initiative and said that she would now be able to travel without worry. Rajrani, meanwhile, said that she would now be able to go wherever she wished to travel. She said, “Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has given a big gift to mothers.” Mithana Devi of Nizampur in Lucknow said that the Yogi government has provided such a facility that they will no longer have to depend on anyone else for travel.This facility for women will not remain limited only to family travel. Many elderly women who attended the programme expressed their desire to visit religious places such as Ayodhya and Kashi. They said that with concerns about fares ending, undertaking pilgrimages would now also become easier.Anjali Srivastava, a BSc second-year student at Nari Shiksha Niketan PG College and a resident of Munshi Puliya, said that she would go to tie Rakhi to her brother on Rakshabandhan and would avail herself of the free travel facility. Aastha Rajput of Jankipuram said that she would go with her mother to tie Rakhi and both of them would take advantage of the facility.Shagun Nishad of Khadra also appeared enthusiastic about the scheme. She said that women at the programme were also given gifts of sarees and sweets. Rachna Rawat of Ahmamau said that she felt very happy meeting Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for the first time. Hearing about the Chief Minister’s schemes for women is encouraging and increases enthusiasm.हिना परवीनHina Parveen of Faizullaganj said that she feels proud seeing the Chief Minister’s thinking and schemes for women and children. Divya Pathak of Siddharthnagar, meanwhile, said that the Chief Minister has a mindset of giving respect to women. Schemes are being run for everyone from youth to the elderly.A large number of elderly women, including Krishnavati, Janak Dulari, and Uberaja of Sarojininagar, also attended the programme. Even at this stage of life, their enthusiasm was like that of the youth. Many among them are associated with self-help groups and, with the support of the Yogi government, are becoming self-reliant through work such as tailoring, spinning, and weaving.

Speaking at the launch event in Lucknow, CM Yogi said the scheme was aimed at making the journey of women more convenient and dignified and strengthening their self-reliance.

Lucknow: Women aged 60 years and above will now be able to travel free of cost on Uttar Pradesh Roadways buses under the newly launched Lokmata Ahilyabai Matri Shakti Yatra scheme.Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched the scheme at an event held at the Indira Gandhi Pratishthan in Lucknow on Wednesday. The government estimates that around 88,438 women passengers will benefit from the scheme every day.Under the scheme, the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation will issue special smart cards to eligible women aged 60 and above. The cards will help identify beneficiaries and facilitate their free travel on Roadways buses.Free travel scheme launchedAnnouncing the scheme, Adityanath said it had been named after Ahilyabai Holkar, whom he described as a symbol of courage and self-respect. He also announced a special travel facility for Raksha Bandhan. On August 27, 28 and 29, women will be allowed to travel free on Roadways buses along with one companion.After the three-day Raksha Bandhan facility, free travel will be available to every woman aged 60 years and above under the new scheme.Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh: CM Yogi Adityanath flagged off special buses in Lucknow, offering lifelong free bus travel to women aged 60 and above pic.twitter.com/GSTl9IIhVL— IANS (@ians_india) August 26, 2026 CM highlights women safetyThe chief minister used the occasion to attack previous governments in Uttar Pradesh, saying the situation in the state before 2017 was marked by insecurity and law and order problems."Before 2017, the respect, education and future of daughters were not secure," Adityanath said, referring to the political slogan associated with the Samajwadi Party government. He alleged that communal riots frequently took place before festivals and that the state was marked by disorder and anarchy.He said the situation had changed after the BJP government came to power under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "The focus of every government scheme is the daughter," he said, adding that corruption and commission-taking had earlier affected government schemes.Nepal Floods: Yogi Adityanath Orders High Alert Along UP-Nepal Border Amid Rising River LevelsBeneficiaries share experiencesAdityanath also stressed the government's approach towards crimes against women. He said those who threatened the safety of women would either end up in jail or face severe consequences.The chief minister said that while women's safety had earlier depended on their "luck", it was now being supported by systems and technology.During the programme, Adityanath also interacted with women beneficiaries and sought their views on the new facility. Pushpa from Unnao thanked the chief minister and said the free travel facility would make it easier for women to travel without depending on others."If I need to go somewhere, I will no longer have to depend on anyone," she told the chief minister.Adityanath told the women that choosing the right people in elections would lead to good outcomes.Also Watch:Scheme cost and implementationThe special smart cards to be issued by the Roadways corporation are expected to make the scheme easier to administer by enabling officials to verify the eligibility of women passengers and facilitate ticket-free travel.The scheme will put an additional financial burden of Rs 22.55 crore on the state government every month. The annual financial implication is estimated at around Rs 270.6 crore.With the initiative, the Yogi Adityanath government has linked its welfare measures for women with public transport, presenting the scheme as part of its broader focus on women's dignity, safety and mobility.