Overview

• The Golden Book of World Records recognized Karnataka’s Shakti scheme on August 18 for logging 5,049,476,416 free women’s bus journeys since its June 11, 2023 launch.
• Official tallies show BMTC and KSRTC each surpassed 150 crore rides, NWKRTC recorded about 117 crore and KKRTC around 72 crore, with daily ridership topping 80 lakh women.
• Discrepancies in reporting the end date for the cumulative count—Deccan Chronicle cites June 10, 2025 while Telangana Today and The Hindu use July 25, 2025—highlight minor inconsistencies in official data.
• A Sustainable Mobility Network study found women’s bus use rose by 23% in Bengaluru and 21% in Hubballi-Dharwad, correlating with higher female employment and per-capita income gains.
• Rapid ridership growth has pushed reimbursements above ₹12,600 crore, prompted a ₹2,000 crore loan to add buses and spurred plans for thousands of new recruits to ease overcrowding.