The Congress-led government in Karnataka launched one of its election promises by inaugurating the 'Shakti' scheme on Sunday, June 11. As part of this initiative, women and transgender persons can avail free bus rides within the state on buses operated by state-run transport corporations.
The inauguration ceremony took place at the Kempegowda Bus Terminal in Bengaluru, where Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar distributed zero-value tickets to five women passengers. While the actual smart cards will be issued within the next three months, these initial recipients received replicas. Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said that until the smart cards are distributed, beneficiaries can use any valid government identification card as proof of residency to avail of the free bus rides. The launch event simultaneously took place at 1 pm in all district headquarters across the state.
The Shakti scheme is expected to incur an annual expenditure exceeding Rs 4,000 crore. To ensure its successful implementation, the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) will have to add 4,028 buses to its existing fleet. A report submitted to the government by the Transport Department outlined this requirement. Transport corporations such as Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation, BMTC, North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation, and Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation will use smart cards to calculate the distance travelled by women passengers. The government will reimburse these corporations based on the beneficiaries' travel distance.
The scheme applies only to non-air-conditioned and non-luxury buses, and the free rides are limited to travel within the state. Additionally, 50% of the seats in three transport corporations, excluding BMTC, are reserved for men. The free bus ride facility is limited to destinations located within a 20-kilometre radius of the state's borders. While the Shakti scheme offers free bus travel within Karnataka, Siddaramaiah said that women seeking inter-state transportation will have to pay the applicable fares.
Siddaramaiah said, "We have delivered as promised. Our government has launched the Shakti scheme. This will empower women to participate in the nation-building process." After the launch of the Shakti initiative, Deputy CM DK Shivakumar in an interview with Mirror Now said, "The price rise was too high... ladies were suffering. We thought we should give a solution. For a society to be healthy, poor people have to be strong, and middle-income people should be strong which is why we promised these five guarantees.”