Over Rs 11,994 cr worth free tickets issued as ‘Shakti’ scheme turns 2

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government’s ambitious ‘Shakti’ scheme, one of the five key guarantees announced by the ruling Congress party, has completed two successful years. Launched on June 11, the scheme has so far enabled over 474 crore women to travel free of cost on state-run buses across Karnataka. During this period, transport corporations have issued tickets worth Rs 11,994 crore, which the state government has committed to reimburse.

Implemented immediately after the Congress came to power, the Shakti scheme was the first of the guarantee programmes to be rolled out. Transport officials say the scheme has received overwhelming public response, significantly increasing the number of women passengers. Interestingly, there has also been a rise in the number of male passengers, likely due to the improved accessibility and frequency of services prompted by the scheme.

The program has drawn attention from other states as well. Officials from the Andhra Pradesh State Transport Corporation recently visited Karnataka to understand the operational framework, challenges, and execution model of the Shakti scheme.

Between June 11, 2023 and June 10, 2025, over 474.82 crore women travelled for free across the four state-run bus corporations—Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (KKRTC), and North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC). On average, 65 lakh women have used the scheme daily.

During this two-year period, the government has issued tickets worth Rs11,994.37 crore to women passengers alone. This translates to an average of Rs16.5 crore worth of free tickets per day. These amounts are being reimbursed directly by the government to the respective corporations to ensure operational sustainability.

As per data provided by KSRTC, the total number of passengers, including men, who used services of the four corporations during this time was 801.54 crore. Of the total female ridership, BMTC accounted for 150 crore passengers, followed by KSRTC with 144 crore, NWKRTC with 111 crore, and KKRTC with 68 crore.

In terms of ticket value for women passengers, KSRTC topped the list with Rs4,556 crore, followed by NWKRTC at Rs2,968 crore, KKRTC at Rs2,408 crore, and BMTC at Rs2,061 crore. Although the government had announced that beneficiaries would be issued Shakti Smart Cards, these have not yet been distributed. As a result, women are currently using Aadhaar cards to avail the free travel benefit.

The scheme has also had a positive impact on tourism, particularly to religious destinations, with transport corporations observing a surge in footfall to pilgrimage sites.

However, the sharp rise in ridership has increased pressure on the existing fleet of buses, especially older ones. In response, the state government has announced the procurement of 4,000 new buses to manage the additional demand generated by the scheme.