The Transport Department, in collaboration with the Centre for e-Governance (CeG), has successfully developed samples of smart cards for the Shakti scheme, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy told The Hindu. “However, the implementation of these smart cards may be delayed as we are currently assessing their feasibility for use on city routes especially in Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC),” he added.
Despite the Shakti scheme surpassing 100 crore rides, the government’s initiative to provide smart cards to women passengers, initially set to be implemented within three months of the scheme’s launch on June 11, has been delayed, with the new deadline extended to December 2023.
“The smart cards can potentially be applied to long journey routes within the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses. However, their suitability for implementation in BMTC and other short-distance city buses needs to be thoroughly examined. Given that many people use city buses for short durations, we are in the process of assessing the compatibility of the smart cards in city buses,” Mr. Reddy explained.
On June 11, the newly-elected Congress government in Karnataka launched the first among five poll guarantees — the Shakti scheme, under which women can travel for free in non-premium services of State-run buses across Karnataka. Since its launch, the scheme has garnered positive reception from female passengers. From day one till November 27, as many as 103,63,73,652 crore women passengers have utilised the initiative to travel across the State. The cumulative value of tickets purchased by these women passengers amounts to ₹24,75,18,55,475.
Earlier, CeG had not been ready to develop the smart cards citing challenges in producing them due to their significant volume and associated manufacturing difficulties. However, Mr. Reddy said that the department eventually agreed to undertake the task.
During the launch of the scheme, the government said that women wishing to benefit from Shakti must apply through the official scheme portal, submitting a valid government-issued ID card as proof of identity. Following this, the Road Transport Corporations will distribute Shakti smart cards, which is a ‘tap-and-travel’ technology approach. This method involves passengers tapping their smart cards on the conductors’ ticketing machines.
Currently, female passengers are presenting a valid identity card issued by either the Central or State government to get a ‘zero ticket’ (free ticket) for bus travel.
