The Congress-led Karnataka government has launched one of their five poll guarantees, the ‘Shakti' scheme, which offers free travel to women in government buses in the state.
The first beneficiaries of the new scheme were handed replicas of the smart cards that would be issued in the next three months to women passengers.
Until then, beneficiaries can use any government IDs as proof of being a resident and travel for free.
The total outgo for the Shakti scheme is expected to exceed Rs 4,000 crore annually and the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) will have to add 4,028 buses to its fleet for the successful implementation of the scheme.
The scheme does not apply to air-conditioned and luxury buses and is limited to travel within the state. It also reserves 50 per cent of seats for men in three transport corporations, except BMTC.
