The transgender community in Pune has raised serious concerns over discrimination in public transportation services. The community members have voiced their struggles and demanded immediate government intervention to address their issues, particularly regarding fare concessions on state transport (ST) buses.

Speaking to The Free Press Journal (FPJ), Teju Punekar, a social worker and transgender advocate, said, "The transgender community still does not have the right to work in every field. Many are still forced to beg (in settlements) or engage in sex work. The government should provide free tickets to transgender individuals because they are a minority and underprivileged. While women are granted half-tickets, transgender individuals face threats when making similar demands. This reflects inequality and an attempt to exclude us from society, which is detrimental to democracy".  

Narrating a tale of intimidation, Akshara Mane told the FPJ, “I was travelling by an MSRTC bus, and when I requested a half-ticket, the conductor threatened to throw me out of the bus, even though I had already bought a ticket. If you are employed in a government service, such behaviour is nothing short of criminal. Are you going to intimidate us like a thug?”

Pratiksha Joshi, another third-gender person, highlighted, "We are facing numerous challenges while travelling by ST (state transport) buses. We have no means of earning, and on top of that, we are not even provided with half-tickets. We also have to endure the rude behaviour of the conductors. How are we supposed to survive in such circumstances? The administration must pay attention to this issue and approve our demand for free tickets.”

MSRTC says discount only for women

“We have to wander and beg for food twice a day. We don’t have many facilities and survive by performing dances to earn a living. We have no relatives or a home to call our own. Therefore, the administration should provide free tickets,” Mahendra Bansode (Punekar), a transgender ‘guru’ and dance teacher, told the FPJ.

However, the MSRTC authorities say according to the government’s policy, only women are supposed to pay half the fare, and until the government makes such a policy for the transgenders, they can’t do anything. 

"In the MSRTC buses, a 50% discount in fares is only for the women, as per the government provision. Until now, no policy has been made for the third-gender community by the government. It’s a policy matter of the government. In the ST buses, there are 14 types of concentration for the people. However, no gender-based discount has been implemented in the ST buses except for ladies,” MSRTC’s Pune division’s controller Pramod Nehul, told the FPJ. 

“In the future, if such a rule is made, MSRTC will definitely follow it,” Nehul added.