KSRTC includes border areas in list of free travel areas under Shakti scheme as part of trial run

BENGALURU: With the Congress government deciding to launch the free bus travel for women scheme from June 11, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) on Wednesday released a list of routes on which free travel will be allowed on a trial basis. Interestingly, these include some inter-state routes to destinations across the state borders, though Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had declared that the Shakti scheme will be confined to within the state.

The Shakti scheme was one of the five guarantees announced by the Congress in the run-up to the Karnataka Assembly election. A government order has now been issued specifying the terms and conditions for the free bus travel scheme for women.

The KSRTC’s notification says it has divided the bus routes as inter-state enclave routes and solitary inter-state routes. There are 32 KSRTC inter-state enclave routes on the list and 19 solitary inter-state routes. The KSRTC also released elaborated guidelines, terms and conditions in the notification.

In the next three months, women can apply for the Shakti Smart Card through the Seva Sindhu government portal. The government said the benefits of the scheme can be availed in the buses operated by Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) and Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (KKRTC).

The smartcards will be issued through the state government’s Seva Sindhu portal. There will be no physical application process. The eligible women passengers can provide government authorised identity cards such as Aadhaar, etc, to avail the Shakti Smart Cards.