First day: Nearly 6 lakh Karnataka women travelled for free on govt buses

Nearly six lakh women travelled for free on government buses across Karnataka on Sunday, the first day of the Shakti scheme.

As many as 5.71 lakh women with Karnataka domicile were issued tickets worth Rs 1.4 crore, according to state government data.

The figures are from 1 pm to midnight and will likely rise as late-night buses are not included, a press release said on Monday.

Also Read | Karnataka: Free bus travel scheme will cover only 85%, not 94% buses

At 2.01 lakh, the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) carried the most women passengers under the scheme, issuing them tickets worth Rs 26.19 lakh. This indicates that intra-city commuting will be the biggest draw for women under the scheme.

However, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), which operates in the state's southern, central and western parts, contributed the highest value of free tickets at Rs 58.16 lakh. It ferried 1.93 lakh women under the scheme.

The North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) ferried 1.22 lakh women and issued them tickets worth Rs 36.17 lakh. The Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (KKRTC) ferried 53,623 women and issued tickets worth Rs 19.7 lakh.

Photocopies of IDs accepted

KSRTC conductors will accept photocopies of government-issued IDs with residential addresses for the women's free bus travel scheme.

In a corrigendum on Monday, the KSRTC chief traffic manager stated that women can submit original copies or photocopies or soft/hard copies of their ID retrieved from DigiLocker.