Karnataka to issue smart cards for women under Shakti free bus ride scheme

3 min readBengaluruUpdated: Jun 9, 2026 03:07 PM IST

Transport Minister Byrathi Suresh said the smart card will serve as an ID card for the women commuters accessing the free bus ride facility (Express/ File photo)

The Karnataka Government is planning to issue smart cards to women as part of the ‘Shakti scheme’ to access free rides on government-run buses across the state.

The smart card will serve as an ID card for the women commuters accessing the free bus ride facility, said newly inducted Transport Minister Byrathi Suresh on Monday.

Suresh also said that the prepaid rechargeable smart cards would be extended to men as well.

The minister said that women can purchase the cards at a minimal price, but they do not need to recharge them, while men will have to recharge the cards, similar to Namma Metro smart cards.

It is expected that about 3 crore smart cards would be issued, and given the scale of the rollout, the government plans to invite tenders for card production, the minister said.

Officials have been directed to launch the distribution process shortly under a pilot project.

The Shakti scheme, which will complete three years on June 11, is one of the five guarantees announced by the Congress government.

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“The passenger numbers have increased by 40 per cent since the launch of the Shakti scheme. The guarantee scheme has yielded success. The government will purchase 1,000 buses using state funds, and an additional 4,000 electric buses with the financial assistance from the Central Government,” Suresh said.

The minister held a review meeting at Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) head office with senior officers from all four state transport bodies — KSRTC, Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC), and Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (KKRTC) — to assess the transport department’s overall functioning.

According to the data, the government has spent about Rs 19,771 crore in three years, and issued 753.7 crore zero-fare tickets to women. Among the corporations, BMTC recorded the highest number of women passengers under the scheme.

Soon after taking charge as the Chief Minister D K Shivakumar announced free bus passes to all students last week. “Whenever I visited other regions, boys would ask me, ‘You have provided free travel by bus only for girls, but not for us.’ So, we have decided to distribute free bus passes to students. To avail this facility, the students must apply for the passes,” the new Karnataka CM had said.

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Total passengers

Shakti scheme passengers

Value of Shakti tickets issued

KSRTC

379.3 crore

228.2 crore

Rs 7,502 crore

BMTC

392 crore

242 crore

Rs 3,513 crore