# 87 crore free bus rides for women in Andhra in one year 2026-08-15T20:52:58+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on August 15 travelled in an APSRTC bus with women beneficiaries to mark the first anniversary of the Stree Shakti free bus travel scheme. Officials said 87 crore journeys had been completed in the year, with an average of 24 lakh women travelling daily. The government spends Rs 8.53 crore a day, totalling Rs 3,095 crore so far. The scheme, launched on August 15, 2025, provides free travel on five categories of APSRTC buses for women, girls and transgender persons domiciled in the state. It covers 7,631 of the corporation's 9,978 buses. Women's share of bus travel has risen from 40% to 62%, and road accidents have reportedly declined, the CMO said. Beneficiaries told Naidu the scheme had cut expenses and opened up opportunities. A fisherwoman said she saved Rs 4,000 a month, while a handloom worker said she could now travel to buy materials and sell saris. Naidu said the scheme promoted women's empowerment, financial independence and dignity. ## Coverage - thehindu.com - thenewsminute.com This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-16T07:53:17+00:00. Tags: Andhra Pradesh, APSRTC, N Chandrababu Naidu, Stree Shakti scheme Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/stree-shakti-scheme-completes-one-year-cm-naidu-touts-empowerment/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/stree-shakti-scheme-completes-one-year-cm-naidu-touts-empowerment/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/