After analysing over 2.7 crore BMTC trip records between 2023 to 2025, researchers at the Azim Premji University have found that women’s daily average ridership rose by over 150% after the launch of the Shakti Scheme. The share of women among total passengers also increased from 40% to 62%.
The Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) is the sole public bus transport provider for Bengaluru, serving urban, suburban and rural areas. The study, titled “Gender, Welfare, and Mobility,” authored by Tamoghna Halder and Arjun Jayadev, examines the impact of the Shakti Scheme on BMTC transport transformation.
Published in November 2025, the study quantifies the financial and operational effects of the Scheme, a flagship guarantee programme of the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government.
According to the study, there was an initial surge in women’s ridership following the Scheme’s implementation, followed by a slowdown and stabilisation at higher levels. Shakti passengers outnumbered other categories, and the ratio of female to male passengers flipped, maintaining a sustained balance over time. The daily average female passengers increased by 151.30%, from 5,06,278.40 pre-Shakti to 12,72,199.40 post-Shakti.
“The initial surge and subsequent stabilisation: consistent with literature on gender-sensitive public transit systems; suggest that the scheme successfully lowered the financial barriers restricting women’s mobility, resulting in lasting behavioural change; women commuters now represent a reliable, core user group for public transport – a pattern unlikely to be altered by seasonal variations or external shocks; and these trends hold up even in the ‘most stable’ routes,” the study notes.
The data analysed spans from January 1, 2023, to January 31, 2025, covering 160 days before and 600 days after the Scheme’s implementation. It includes over 8,000 routes, with more than 2,000 new routes added after the introduction of Shakti, and a total of 2.89 crore trips.
Key variables in the dataset include route name, ticket date, ticket type, trip number, total passengers, and total revenue.
On financial performance, the study found that Shakti subsidies, on average, exceed revenue. However, the difference between subsidies and fare income is relatively narrow, and the system shows signs of balance between Shakti and non-Shakti riders.
The researchers note that the long-term fiscal sustainability of the scheme remains uncertain, given potential crowding, uneven subsidy-to-revenue ratios across routes and the need for strategic revenue generation. The study states that the social and economic benefits are potentially far greater than the costs.
The researchers also present preliminary evidence on access to opportunities, showing a changing gender map of Bengaluru between 2023 and 2025. Routes through the Central Business District, including Majestic, KR Market and Shivajinagar, show progressively higher shares of Shakti riders, while some peripheral routes, especially in the east and south-east, lag. This, the study notes, indicates a structural shift in urban mobility by providing effective access to jobs, education, and healthcare through the removal of transport costs.
The researchers write that this change “moves the debate beyond cash versus kind, positioning mobility as a right,” and signifies “a gendered reorientation of urban space and its economic geographies.”
Further insights from case studies include increased access for local women to metro stations through Metro-feeder routes, and no significant difference in scheme uptake between the most and least SC/ST concentrated wards of BBMP.
The study concludes that while cash transfers offer autonomy, structural solutions like the Shakti Scheme, which provides universal access to safe, reliable transport, are crucial for expanding women’s capabilities and transforming social and economic participation.
It identifies key policy priorities such as expanding BMTC capacity through increased fleet size and frequency, integrating services with the metro, extending benefits to migrant women and strategically targeting BMTC revenues for long-term fiscal balance through continuous monitoring.
The study notes several data challenges, including around six lakh trips with missing dates, five lakh trips with more than 500 passengers, over 10,000 trips with unusually high revenue, and about 40 lakh duplicate entries. The final findings are based on approximately 2.7 crore valid trip records.