The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation has said people above the age of 75 can travel for free on its buses from Friday.

An MSRDC releases also quoted the state-run transport undertaking's vice chairman and general manager Shekhar Channe as saying that those eligible for this free travel scheme will get a fare refund if they had booked their tickets before August 26.

It said those between the age of 65 and 75 would get a 50 percent rebate on ticket fares on all types of bus services operated by the undertaking.

The free travel facility can be availed by showing identity documents like Aadhaar Card, PAN card, driving license, Voter's Card, etc, the release said.?It also added that this facility is not available for MSRTC's city buses and will be for journeys within state limits.

The announcement of the new facility was made by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in the state Assembly a couple of days ago.

MSRTC has a fleet of more than 16,000 buses and used to ferry almost 65 lakh passengers per day before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020.