Karnataka’s Shakti scheme completes 2 years, 478 crore women benefit from free bus travel

Karnataka's Shakti Guarantee Scheme completes 2 years, benefiting over 478 crore women with free bus travel across KSRTC, BMTC, NWKRTC & KKRTC. ₹12,092 crore worth of tickets issued; accident & welfare schemes launched.

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government's flagship Shakti Guarantee Scheme has successfully completed two years. As of June 16, 2025, over 478 crore women passengers have availed free travel on state-run buses, amounting to a total value of ₹12,092 crore in free tickets.

Congress’ flagship guarantee delivers impact 

The Congress party, during the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections, had promised free travel for women on government transport as part of its five guarantees. Once in power, the government implemented the Shakti scheme as its first major initiative.

Over 65 lakh women travel daily 

Karnataka has an estimated 3.5 crore (35 million) women. On average, over 65.47 lakh (6.54 million) women travel daily using buses operated by KSRTC, KKRTC, NWKRTC, and BMTC under this scheme.

Spike in visits to religious and tourist destinations 

The implementation of the Shakti scheme has significantly boosted women’s travel across Karnataka. Religious and tourist destinations in the state have reported increased footfall, with most places running at full capacity.

Women are allowed to travel for free by showing government-issued photo ID cards, including Aadhaar, voter ID, PAN, and driving licences.

₹1 crore accident insurance: Transport Suraksha scheme 

The Transport Suraksha Accident Insurance Scheme by the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) offers ₹1 crore compensation to the families of employees who die in accidents, whether on or off duty.

So far, the scheme has disbursed ₹26 crore to 26 families of deceased employees.

Employee Family Welfare Scheme enhanced 

Recognising the rising number of deaths among staff due to illnesses such as heart attacks, cancer, and strokes, the government revised the Employee Family Welfare Compensation Scheme on November 1, 2023. The compensation was increased from ₹3 lakh to ₹10 lakh.

To date, ₹12.5 crore has been paid out in 125 cases under the revised scheme.