Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah launches 'Shakti' free travel scheme for women

BENGALURU: Launching the Congress government's ambitious Shakti free travel scheme for women in public transport buses, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday said the scheme will empower women and increase their representation in public life.

The scheme allows women and transgenders, across age and economic strata, to travel free in government buses within Karnataka. However, there are restrictions on the kind of buses that are allowed. "Women and transgenders irrespective of caste, religion and age - the scheme covers even students - are eligible for the free bus travel," said the CM.

As per KSRTC officials, as many as 5,102 of the 5,548 BMTC buses and 6,239 out of 7,482 KSRTC buses will have this facility for women, besides 3,892 NWKRTC and 3,376 KKRTC buses. They said on average, about 42 lakh women passengers will benefit from the scheme every day. Transport minister Ramalinga Reddy said 50% of the 6.5 crore people in the state are women and 90% of them using buses will benefit from this scheme.