Karnataka inducts 100 ‘Ashwamedha Classic’ buses, 700 more to join fleet by April
The transport minister stated that around 5,000 buses will be inducted by all four state Road Transport Corporations (RTCs) by the end of April
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Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah flags off 100 KSRTC non A/C Ashwamedha buses as part of inducting 1000 such buses by April. (Express Photo by Jithendra M)Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah flagged off 100 non-AC Ashwamedha Classic buses from the grand steps of the Vidhana Soudha on Monday. These are part of the 800-strong Ashwamedha Classic fleet that will be deployed by April this year.
On the occasion, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy stated that the new buses will solve the commuting woes of school- and college-goers, and also fulfill the soaring demand for religious trips, especially on account of the Shakti Scheme (free travel for women).
Ashwamedha Classic buses provide a ‘point-to-point transport service’ from Mysore, Hassan, and Dharmasthala, among other places, to Bengaluru. The 52-seater bus is equipped with two security cameras, a panic button, wider leg rooms, mobile battery charging slots, emergency stop buttons, and a centre mirror, among other features.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah with Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy. (Express Photo by Jithendra M)
Reddy also stated that around 5,000 buses will be inducted by all four Road Transport Corporations (RTCs) by the end of April. “A lot of school and college students were finding it difficult to access KSRTC services due to the shortage of buses. The new buses aim to solve this problem. This will also fulfill the ridership demand following the launch of the Shakti Scheme, as the number of passengers travelling across all four RTCs jumped by nearly 25 lakh from 84 lakh…” said Reddy.
He added that ridership will get a further boost in the coming days, with schoolchildren and their parents opting for more outstation trips during the summer break.
The transport minister said the recruitment process has also been initiated for 9,000 posts to fill up nearly 13,000 vacancies across all four RTCs. The last such recruitment took place in 2016.
Reddy also allayed fears of ‘stopping the Shakti scheme after the Lok Sabha election’. “The BJP has been spreading false propaganda that the Shakti scheme will be stopped after the Lok Sabha elections. People need not worry. The scheme will continue as long as the Congress is in power. So far, over 146 crore women have travelled under the Shakti scheme which is a testament to the scheme’s success,” said Reddy.
10,000 new ETMs by April 2024
Further, by April 2024, the KSRTC will also be floating fresh tenders to procure 10,000 new ETMs (Electronic Ticketing Machines) that are compatible with various smart cards like the Shakti Smart card, debit card, and NCMC card, among others. The Shakti Smart card has been purportedly introduced to record and document the number of women passengers availing of the scheme.
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