Several dubious websites, posing as digital news aggregators, have recently published an article claiming that the Union Government of India is set to roll out a nationwide free travel scheme for senior citizens starting June 15, 2025.
According to the article, the government will provide free travel services for all senior citizens aged 60 and above across multiple modes of transport — including Indian Railways, domestic flights, state-run buses, and metro rail services.
The viral articles state that eligible senior citizens would be allowed to travel unlimited distances, free of cost across all states and union territories; and to verify age, one would require only a government-issued ID - an Aadhaar card or Voter ID.
Fact-check
BOOM first checked for any credible news reports confirming that the Union government is launching free travel services for senior citizens, but found no such announcements.
We then reached out to Dr Swapnil Nila, Chief Public Relations Officer of Central Railway to verify whether any such announcement had been made. The CPRO confirmed that no such announcement has been issued and clarified that the viral claim is false.
The articles also specifically names Air India as a participating operator. However, upon checking the airline’s official website, we found no announcement regarding any free travel scheme for senior citizens. Instead, Air India currently offers discounts—up to 50%—for senior citizens on domestic flights in economy class.
BOOM reached out to an Air India spokesperson who dismissed the claim saying, "It's a rumour. There is no such thing happening."
Further, we found no evidence of a nationwide policy or scheme offering free travel for senior citizens on metro rail or government-run buses. However, some cities, like Mumbai, do offer discounted monthly passes for senior citizens on local transport.
In June 2024, Maharashtra’s current Deputy Chief Minister and former Chief Minister announced the Mukhya Mantri Teerth Darshan Yojana — a pilgrimage scheme aimed at senior citizens of all religions. Shinde stated that the initiative was aimed at supporting the spiritual journeys of elderly citizens.
In November 2024, the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) announced a 25% concession on bus fares to senior citizens, irrespective of their state of residence.
Dubious websites and author details
We noticed several discrepancies on the websites sharing these articles.
One such website named "MC Faridabad" impersonated the Faridabad Municipal Corporation's website. Upon observing, we found that the site lacked basic sections such as a 'Contact' or 'About Us', which are typically present on credible websites to provide transparency. Second, the website claimed that it was the official civic body responsible for managing infrastructure and administrative services in Faridabad, Haryana.
BOOM found that the official website of the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad was entirely different in design and content from the one spreading the viral claim. The official site did not feature any such reports or articles, and there was no mention of a free travel scheme for senior citizens.
Furthermore, the article has been written in the form of a research paper, with a distinct table of contents and it does not follow the standard format of a news report.
The bylines used in the articles were attributed to one Catherine Johnson and Angelina White, with photographs purportedly depicting the reporters. We ran a reverse image search on both the photos and found that they are unrelated. The image shared as that of Catherine Johnson is originally Florence Colgate, a student from Kent, England.
Our search led us to articles in HuffPost, Daily Mail and Time magazine, which reported that Colgate had been dubbed "Britain’s Most Beautiful Face." According to the articles, she won a nationwide beauty contest sponsored by Lorraine Cosmetics. At the time, the 18-year-old was praised for her “mathematically” symmetrical features.
The photograph, purported to show Angelina White, is originally from istockphoto.com, a stock photo website, where it was uploaded in August, 2019.
