Karnataka free bus travel scheme to add smart cards for women, says Byrathi Suresh

Karnataka Transport Minister Byrathi Suresh said the state will issue smart cards to women to improve the free bus travel scheme on state-run services. Around 3 crore residents are expected to receive cards, free for women and fee-based for men. The government plans tenders and a pilot rollout across KSRTC, BMTC, NWKRTC, and KKRTC.

Karnataka Transport Minister Byrathi Suresh said the state will introduce smart cards to improve free bus travel for women. Suresh said more than 3 crore residents are likely to get the cards. Women will receive the cards free. Men can buy them by paying a fee. The cards will work like a metro card and need recharging.

Suresh said the government will invite tenders because about 3 crore smart cards must be produced. Suresh added that officials have been asked to begin distribution soon through a pilot project. Suresh assumed charge as Transport Minister on Monday. Suresh met officials and later visited the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation headquarters.

Shakti Scheme smart cards and Karnataka bus travel

After taking charge, Suresh reviewed operations across four state transport corporations. Suresh met senior staff from KSRTC, Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation, North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation, and Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation. The meeting focused on the transport department’s functioning. The smart card plan was presented as a way to make the free travel scheme run better.

"The Congress government in Karnataka has improved peoples lives through its five guarantee schemes. Crores of women are benefiting from the Shakti Scheme that provides free bus travel for women and passenger numbers have increased by about 40 per cent since the scheme was introduced,\" Suresh was quoted as saying in a statement from his office.

Karnataka transport smart cards and new bus procurement

Suresh said the state government will buy 1,000 buses using state funds. Suresh also said 4,000 electric buses will be procured with financial help from the central government. The purchases will happen in phases. The buses will then be shared among the four transport corporations named by the minister.

Vehicle Location Tracking Systems and Karnataka transport safety

Suresh said women’s and girls’ safety is being treated as a priority. Suresh said officials were told to speed up Vehicle Location Tracking Systems installation. The focus is on private passenger vehicles, including commercial cars and taxis. The system has been fitted in more than one lakh vehicles so far.

Suresh said officials were instructed to finish installing VLTS in the remaining four to five lakh vehicles. Suresh added that the target timeframe is the next three to four months. The smart card rollout and tracking push were presented as parallel steps. Both were aimed at smoother service delivery and safer travel across Karnataka.

With inputs from PTI