State Released Guidelines For Free Bus Travel Scheme In Karnataka: The newly formed state government of Karnataka headed by Mr. Siddaramaiah has planned to implement the 5 schemes which were announced by the party before the elections, which also include free bus travel scheme for state women across the state and this scheme was named by “Shakthi”.
The government planned to implement the Shakthi scheme on 11.06.2023 (Sunday) and on regarding this government released a GO on Yesterday. The GO gives elaborated guidelines for the state women and transport department officials. According to the report, State women can apply for the Shakthi Smartcard on the “Seva Sindhu” website.
This scheme will also be applicable to transgender. The report also states that until the card is issued, women can travel for free in government buses by showing any one of the below-mentioned identity cards,
- Aadhaar card
- Voter ID card
- Driving Licence
- Identity card issued by the central or state government with a residential address in Karnataka
- Disabled identity cards and senior citizen identity cards issued by the Directorate of Senior Citizen welfare
- Women from other states are not eligible to travel for free
They can also show the digitalized version of the above-mentioned identity cards through ‘Digilocker’ to the conductor for their free bus travel. The government also instructed bus conductors to treat women travelers with courtesy and do the needful to them while traveling. This free travel scheme in government buses will assist working women and students across the state.