The Congress government is all set to launch Shakti, the free bus travel scheme for women, one of the party’s five poll guarantees, in Bengaluru on Sunday. Women are eligible to travel for free in government-run non-luxury buses operated by BMTC, KSRTC, NWRTC, and NEKRTC from 1 p.m. on Sunday.
It is estimated that close to 42 lakh women would avail themselves of the facility daily.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, and Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy would attend the launch programme at Vidhana Soudha at 11 a.m.
Mr. Siddaramaiah and his Cabinet colleagues are expected to take a bus ride till Kempe Gowda bus stand, Majestic, where both BMTC and KSRTC buses commence services to different destinations in the city and the State, respectively.
Mr. Reddy said that women would have to produce Aadhaar, ration card, driving licence or any one of the official documents to bus conductors. The department would provide smart cards after three months.
For the convenience of passengers, he said stickers would be pasted on all buses that offer free tickets to women. The scheme was applicable to only women of Karnataka domicile and travelling within the State.
The Minister said officials of all RTCs (BMTC, KSRTC, NWRTC, NEKRTC) buses had been told to maintain records of women passengers and the same data would be submitted to the Finance Department to avail reimbursement.
The estimated cost of implementation of the scheme would be ₹4,051.56 crore, annually. Around 18,609 buses are operated by RTCs daily across the State.
The Congress government is set to launch the other four guarantees in a phased manner in the coming days.
