Bengaluru/Shivamogga/Mangaluru
As the Karnataka government is gearing up to launch ‘Shakti’ - the scheme to allow women to travel for free in State–run road transport corporation (RTCs) buses from June 11, passengers in parts of the state, especially in Coastal Karnataka and Malnad districts where a majority of the bus services are operated by private operators, may not get the full benefit of the scheme.
Passengers in coastal districts such as Dakshina Kannada, and Udupi, and Malnad districts such as Kodagu, and Shivamogga depend largely on private buses to commute. Apart from this, districts in the old Mysuru region except for Bengaluru city also depend on the private buses in rural areas.
