BENGALURU: In the State Budget, the government announced the implementation of the Karnataka Electric Bus Programme (KEBP) at a cost of ₹2,000 crore, under which 32 electric bus depots of the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) and 62 depots of other State Road Transport Corporations will be developed, and 4,000 electric buses inducted.
The budget also highlighted the continued rollout of the Shakti Scheme, aimed at empowering women through free bus travel in State-run buses.
According to the government, women beneficiaries have undertaken 684 crore trips under the scheme so far. An allocation of ₹5,300 crore has been provided for its implementation in 2026–27.
To improve the services of the transport corporations, the government noted that 2,000 diesel buses are being procured through direct purchase as announced in the 2025–26 Budget.
Including these, 6,596 buses have been added to the corporations in the past three years. In addition, 1,000 more diesel buses will be provided during 2026–27.
The budget also announced measures to improve road safety and transport infrastructure. A modern software system with a dashboard to identify and manage accident black spots across the State, including Bengaluru, will be developed at a cost of ₹5 crore in collaboration with IIT Madras and the National Informatics Centre (NIC).
The government also addressed pending demands of employees of the State Road Transport Corporations. While the previous government had revised salaries with effect from March 1, 2023, it had not taken a decision on arrears for the earlier period.
The present government has decided to pay salary arrears for the period from January 1, 2021 to February 28, 2023, and further revise salaries from April 1, 2025. An amount of ₹1,271 crore has been earmarked for this purpose.
Revenue collections from the transport sector have reached ₹11,630 crore up to February 2026, registering a growth of 8.5% over the previous year. The government has set a revenue target of ₹15,500 crore from motor vehicles for 2026–27.
The budget also noted a recovery in vehicle sales, with two wheeler sales increasing by 13% and car sales rising by 4% up to January compared with the same period last year.