Women travelling across Uttar Pradesh for Raksha Bandhan will be able to use state-run buses without paying fare, as the Yogi Adityanath government has stepped up preparations for the festival rush. The Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) has decided to operate additional services for six days, while transport employees have been asked to remain on duty by cancelling leave during the period.
The special arrangement is aimed at ensuring that women travelling to meet their brothers are not left struggling for transport during one of the busiest travel periods of the year. The additional services are scheduled to operate from August 26 to August 31, covering the days around Raksha Bandhan and allowing the transport corporation
to respond to the anticipated rise in demand.
The decision to expand bus operations is particularly significant because festival travel in Uttar Pradesh often produces heavy crowds at major bus stations and on routes connecting cities with smaller towns and villages. With families travelling simultaneously, regular services can quickly become overcrowded.
Under the government’s arrangement, women will receive the free-travel benefit in eligible state-run bus services during the notified Raksha Bandhan period. The objective is not merely to provide a financial concession but also to ensure that women can travel to their families without the cost of a bus ticket becoming an additional burden.
Employees’ Leave Cancelled
The transport department has also placed emphasis on manpower. Leave for employees involved in bus operations is being curtailed so that the maximum possible number of buses can remain on the road.
Drivers, conductors and other operational personnel will therefore be required to report for duty during the festival period. The move is intended to prevent a shortage of staff from undermining the government’s decision to increase the number of services.
The UPSRTC is expected to deploy buses according to passenger demand, particularly on routes witnessing unusually high footfall. Additional vehicles can be shifted towards busy corridors as crowds build up.
A Political Message
The free-bus initiative has also become a recurring feature of the Yogi Adityanath government’s Raksha Bandhan arrangements. In 2025, women were allowed free travel on UPSRTC buses for three days, while the Transport Department directed officials to keep the maximum number of buses operational between August 7 and August 12.
The scale of the 2025 response illustrated why the government is planning extended arrangements. More than 50 lakh passengers travelled during the first two days of the free-travel period, with daily passenger numbers rising sharply above normal levels.
The scheme consequently serves a dual purpose. On one hand, it provides a direct festival benefit to women, particularly those travelling over longer distances to their parental homes. On the other, the deployment of additional buses attempts to ensure that the benefit does not translate into excessive overcrowding.
For the Yogi government, the announcement also fits into a broader political emphasis on women-centric welfare and mobility. Free travel during Raksha Bandhan has increasingly been projected as a gesture of convenience and respect for women, while the large-scale mobilisation of the roadways network demonstrates the government’s attempt to combine the announcement with visible administrative delivery.
With thousands of women likely to head towards their hometowns and villages, the effectiveness of the scheme will ultimately depend on whether the additional buses can keep pace with the festival rush.
