Karnataka’s Shakti scheme completes one year; women avail of 229 crore free bus rides
A study by the state-run Fiscal Policy Institute shows that women’s workforce participation as well as footfall at pilgrimage sites has increased after the introduction of the Shakti scheme of free bus rides for women.
3 min read
Many women complain that the overcrowding of buses on account of the free rides forces them to depend on other modes of transport. (Photo: Twitter/@CMofKarnataka)The Karnataka government on Tuesday marked one year of its Shakti scheme of free bus travel for women, with beneficiaries having travelled 229 crore times for free, amounting to a ticket value of approximately Rs 5,500 crore.
The ambitious Shakti scheme is one of the five pre-poll guarantees implemented by the Congress government. The scheme, introduced to empower women and encourage them to use public transport, kicked off on June 11 in 2023. A whopping 10 crore women availed of free bus rides in the first month, costing the exchequer Rs 248 crore.
Of the 226 crore rides, 68 crore were made in buses of the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), 71 crore in the Bangalore Metro Transport Corporation, 52 crore in North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation and 38 crore in the Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation. The KSRTC has incurred the highest cost, with Rs 2,077 crore.
Owing to the soaring demand for buses, all the four road transport corporations increased their daily operated kilometres to 67 lakh to cater to the needs of the public. They have decided to increase the fleet size by inducting 5,676 (including 2,271 electric buses) at a cost of Rs 500 crore.
A study by the state-run Fiscal Policy Institute showed that since the launch of Shakti scheme last year, Karnataka’s Goods and Services Tax collection had “presumably” increased by Rs 309.64 crore, suggesting that the money saved by women was being used for consumption activities, which translated into revenue for the state government.
The study also said that women’s participation in the workforce has increased multifold after the introduction of the Shakti scheme. Footfall at pilgrimage sites has also increased, according to the study.
The scheme has had its share of critics too. Many women complain that the overcrowding of buses on account of the free rides forces them to depend on other modes of transport. Some also say that because of the high cost in running the scheme, the frequency of buses on certain routes has been reduced.
Leaders of the Opposition BJP had said the free scheme would last only till the Lok Sabha elections.
You May Like
Photos
