Karnataka's 'Shakti' scheme, launched by the Congress government last year, has provided 227 crore free rides to women in government non-luxury buses, costing the state exchequer Rs 5,526.64 crore. The scheme has been successful across various bus corporations, with the state also improving its public transport system introducing new buses and recruiting additional staff.
Ramalinga Reddy, the Transport Minister mentioned that the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) handles the majority of rides accounting for 71.45 crores, followed by the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) with 69.5 crores, North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) with 52.12 crores, and Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (KKRTC) with 33.47 crore free rides. The minister further mentioned that measures to improve the public transport system including the induction of 5,800 new buses have been taken along with the introduction of 2,438 new buses across four transport corporations namely 'Pallakki', 'Ashwamedha Classic', 'Kalyana Ratha', and 'Amogha Varsha' in the state.
KSRTC, NWKRTC, KKRTC, and BMTC all incurred expenditures of Rs 2,111.14 crore, Rs 1,352.68 crore, Rs 1,125.81 crore, and Rs 937.01 crore respectively. The government has approved 9,000 posts for recruitment, including 1,844 driver-cum-conductors and technical assistants. Recruitment for 6,500 posts is underway. The government has also increased accident relief compensation from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 10 lakh for dependents.
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