Free Bus Ride For Women: Karnataka Scheme Has Limitations, Need To Be Addressed

The Karnataka government recently announced that it will be making bus travel free for women in the State. However, the process that needs to be followed, as mentioned by the government, to avail the benefits of this initiative is not feasible for all according to the activists.

The free bus travel scheme for women who live in Karnataka is a part of Congress' pre-poll guarantee for the public. The scheme will be implemented in all Karnataka state-run buses from June 11. However, the government has asked women to apply for a special smart card that will work as a zero ticket for women and will track the number of female passengers and the reimbursement to road transport.

The application for this card will be online and that is the reason why activists in Karnataka are concerned that not all women, like those who belong to BPL families or those who don't have access to the internet, will be able to apply for it. Here's all you need to know about the issue.

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Karnataka Free Bus Ride Scheme

Karnataka government announced free bus rides for women in the State from June 11. The scheme is limited to the women who are residents of Karnataka which has been a topic of discussion. However, a more important concern was the application process for the Shakti Smart Card, a card that every woman needs to have to avail of the benefit of the free ride scheme. Women have to apply for it online on the government's Seva Sindhu portal and will be issued within three months.

For the initial three months when the cards are not issued, women will be given 'zero tickets' to travel for free in state buses. The activists have expressed their doubt whether the authorities will be able to issue almost 2 to 3 crore smart cards in a short time of three months. More than that, free bus travel will be a relief for women who cannot afford public transport. Women from rural areas or the ones that have financial restrictions will not be able to apply for these compulsory smart cards.

The activists have cited Delhi's implementation of free bus rides for women. In Delhi, bus conductors issue a special free ticket to women riders that help the government keep a check on the number of passengers and their journey to manage reimbursement to the bus transport corporation. However, in Karnataka, the reimbursement will be based on distance travelled by women passengers.

People are saying that if Delhi can successfully implement this process, Karnataka can too. This will be easier for women passengers from remote areas that don't have proper access to the internet to apply and those who can't afford to pay for online applications. This way, they can benefit from the scheme immediately. They are also saying that this scheme should not be limited to female residents of Karnataka only.