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As the Karnataka government’s Shakti scheme that allows women to travel for free in State transport buses has received an overwhelming response, the road transport corporations (RTCs) have taken disciplinary action against 108 conductors from four RTCs for generating ‘fake’ tickets under the scheme.
According to the data, 53 conductors in the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), 12 in the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), seven in the North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC), and 36 in the Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (KKRTC) have faced disciplinary action.
Speaking to The Hindu, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said: “The bus crew from all four RTCs have been consistently instructed not to issue fake or extra tickets or misuse the Shakti scheme. Despite these warnings, 108 instances have been identified, leading to disciplinary measures being taken against them.”
According to Mr. Reddy the RTCs have formed special teams to address this issue, actively conducting an investigation to identify instances where conductors issue fraudulent tickets.
A senior KSRTC official said that upon investigating cases involving the issuance of fake tickets, it was discovered that conductors generated false tickets to earn incentives from the RTCs. The corporation provides incentives to bus crew members who achieve their targets.
In October 2023, the BMTC suspended a driver-cum-conductor who was caught on camera generating unnecessary tickets to claim incentives. The incident gained widespread attention on social media, where a video captured the conductor printing tickets from the electronic ticketing machine and discarding them out of the window. The video, recorded by a female passenger, went viral, leading to the subsequent suspension of the conductor by BMTC.
Since the launch of the Shakti scheme on June 11, 2023, till March 3 the RTCs issued 1,64,65,13,113 “zero tickets” indicating the number of free bus rides women have taken utilising the scheme. The cumulative value of tickets issued has been ₹39,37,43,57,155.
