Karnataka’s ‘free-bus’ scheme nears 500-crore ticket milestone in just two years: Report

Karnataka's Shakti scheme, offering free bus travel for women, is on track to issue 500 crore tickets within two years.

Published on: Jul 13, 2025, 13:08:27 IST

By HT News Desk

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Karnataka’s ambitious Shakti scheme, which offers free bus travel for women across the state, is set to achieve a significant milestone, 500 crore tickets issued, within just two years of its launch, reported The Times of India. It is expected to be crossed by July 14, with over 497 crore free tickets issued as of July 11, as per the publication.

Siddaramaiah, DKS and Ramalinga Reddy distribute free tickets to women inside the bus while implementing Shakti scheme.

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Launched on June 11, 2023, the Shakti scheme is a flagship programme of the Congress government, aimed at enhancing women's access to public transport. The scheme allows free travel for women in non-luxury buses operated by KSRTC, BMTC, NWKRTC, and KKRTC. According to the report, more than 20,000 of the state's 25,000 buses now support free travel under the scheme. In June 2025 alone, over 73 lakh free tickets were issued each day, underlining the scheme’s widespread adoption.

CM and Deputy CM to celebrate the mile stone

To commemorate the 500-crore milestone, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar are expected to participate in a symbolic ride by boarding a city bus and issuing free tickets to women passengers. Transport Minister R. Ramalinga Reddy added that district-level committees overseeing the guarantee schemes will mark the occasion with sweets and floral greetings at bus terminals across the state.

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The total cost of reimbursing the four state-run transport corporations has already exceeded ₹12,614 crore, with an estimated ₹2,750 crore in pending dues yet to be cleared. To keep up with the rising demand and ageing fleet, the state has sanctioned a ₹2,000 crore loan and has initiated the process of adding 5,800 new buses. In addition, 10,000 new staff are being recruited to support the scheme’s growing scale, including 1,000 appointments on compassionate grounds.

The report further stated that the daily bus ridership has surged from around ₹85 lakh before the scheme to over ₹1 crore currently. The scheme’s popularity has also been reflected in month-wise data, during its first month, 10 crore free tickets were issued at a cost of approximately ₹250 crore. By the second month, the figure had doubled to 20 crore tickets, costing around ₹453 crore.

Ridership hit a peak in May 2025, when over 22 crore tickets were issued in a single month, driving costs up to ₹670 crore. Officials attribute this spike partly to a fare hike in January 2025, which made free travel even more attractive.

The Shakti scheme was the first of five pre-poll guarantees implemented by the Congress government after its 2023 electoral win.

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