Kerala government launches women-only ‘pink bus’ service
The Kerala government launched the women-only ‘pink bus’ service introduced by the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), at the Thiruvananthapuram Central depot on Thursday
The Kerala government launched the women-only ‘pink bus’ service introduced by the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), at the Thiruvananthapuram Central depot on Thursday (July 23, 2026), as part of the government’s 100-day action plan. Speaking after inaugurating the State-level roll-out of the initiative, Transport Minister C.P. John said the project is being implemented with the aim of ensuring safe and comfortable travel for working women. The government’s goal is to create an environment where women can travel freely. Pink bus services will operate at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. to ensure safety during night travel for women working in places including Technopark.
The project will be extended to other districts soon, and the routes and timings will be determined after assessing the requirements of the passengers, said the Minister. In addition to night services, the pink buses will ply during the day as well. The Minister said that pink bus services have been arranged in the morning to ensure safe travel to the medical college for women arriving by train, mothers traveling with small children, and patients. Stating that the KSRTC is doing exemplary work in promoting the use of public transport, the Minister said that it has gained strong trust and acceptance among the people, which has increased the confidence and pride of the employees.
John added that there is no basis for the fear that the salaries of the employees would be affected in the name of implementing the free travel scheme. The services in the capital will run via East Fort, Thampanoor, Pattom, Medical College (RCC), Ulloor, Kazhakuttam, Techno Park, Infosys, Lulu Mall, and KIMS Hospital. To ensure the punctuality of services and increase revenue, an online reservation facility and the use of electric buses in the future are also being considered. The new Link Fast Passenger buses have been allotted for the project to operate services from Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam depots.
Corporation councillor Harikumar presided over the inaugural function. KSRTC Chairman and Managing Director P.S. Pramoj Shankar welcomed the gathering.
The BriefWire