Karnataka: RTCs may need fund push to power free rides for women and stay afloat

BENGALURU: The new transport minister, Ramalinga Reddy, is set to announce the fate of the Shakti scheme on June 1. A pre-cabinet meeting scheduled at 12pm on Wednesday will discuss the financial and operational modalities of the scheme, which promises free public bus transport for women, and seal the deal.
Reddy convened a two-hour meeting on Tuesday, with the heads of all four transport corporations under the Karnataka government to understand the current status of operations, costs and revenue of the public bus transport sector.

Representatives from Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) and Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (KKRTC) were present at the meeting.
Sources from the departments concerned told TOI that the free travel option cannot be sustainable for the corporations unless the state government agrees to a consistent provision of funding to meet the cost burden.
All four bodies under loss
BMTC, KSRTC, NWKRTC and KKRTC cumulatively earn about Rs 23 crore daily. At the meeting, the minister was apprised that 40% of the earned amount is spent on procuring diesel every day. “About Rs 13-14 crore worth of diesel is bought for all four corporations,” he was told. Another 40% is set aside for staff salaries and the rest goes towards other operative expenses. During the 2022-2023 financial year, the corporations earned about Rs 8,945 crore of revenue and spent Rs 12,750 crore, incurring a loss of Rs 3,805 crore.
Minimum of Rs 12 crore daily, more buses needed
Together, the state public bus corporations ferry nearly 83 lakh passengers every day, 41 lakh of them women. Free transport for women would mean the utilities will lose 50% of the daily revenue or Rs 11.5 crore, making daily operations impossible. “With half of our revenue lost to the scheme, we will not be able to purchase fuel for a day’s operations. A lifeline of a minimum Rs 11.5 crore is needed daily to keep the corporations working at a bare minimum,” a source said.
If the International Women’s Day experiment — when women were allowed free bus rides by BMTC — was any lesson, the number of women travellers will triple if and when bus rides are made free.
On March 8, 66% of BMTC passengers were women against the daily estimate of 25%. On regular days, BMTC ferries about 29 lakh citizens (men and women) but on March 8, it ferried 33 lakh people of which 22 lakh were women. With only 6,688 buses in its fleet, the Bengaluru bus agency will drown in a sea of riders if more buses aren’t added to cater to the increased demand, experts said.