BENGALURU: Transport Minister Byrathi Suresh on Monday announced plans to procure 5,000 new buses to strengthen public transport services across Karnataka.
The buses will be inducted in phases and distributed among the four state-run transport corporations to meet rising passenger demand following the Shakti scheme.
He said that over three crore women beneficiaries of the Shakti scheme will be issued free smart cards to enable seamless travel on state-run buses. Suresh held a review meeting with senior officials of KSRTC, BMTC, KKRTC and NWKRTC and took stock of the functioning of the transport corporations.
The minister said the Shakti scheme, which offers free bus travel to women, has led to a 40% increase in ridership since its launch. To streamline the scheme and improve passenger tracking, the government has decided to issue smart cards to women passengers.
The transport department will soon float a global tender for the preparation of the cards and launch a pilot project before statewide implementation. Men will also be able to obtain rechargeable smart cards similar to Metro cards by paying a fee.
Suresh said that the state government will buy 1,000 new buses through state funding, while 4,000 electric buses will be acquired with central government assistance.
The buses will be inducted in phases and distributed among the four state-run transport corporations.
The minister said passenger safety, particularly for women and girls, would remain a priority. He directed officials to expedite the installation of Vehicle Location Tracking Systems (VLTS) in commercial passenger vehicles, including taxis and other transport services. More than one lakh vehicles have already been fitted with the system, and the remaining four to five lakh vehicles are expected to be covered within the next three to four months.
