Shakti Program in Karnataka and Delhi: no bus fare for women

The Shakti scheme in Karnataka hopes to empower women with free bus rides. The program is also aiming to increase female participation in employment.

The Shakti Program is an initiative by the government of Karnataka aimed at women's empowerment by offering free bus commutes. Free bus rides will allow women to save money on fares and improve the overall working conditions in India.

In 2019, Delhi started the free commute for women program with pink colour tickets. More than 1 billion of these tickets have been used since then according to the government. Similar schemes were also introduced in Punjab and Tamil Nadu. With the Shakti program, Karnataka became the most recent Indian state to make commuting free for women.

Female labour participation in India is one of the lowest in the world with only a 17% contribution to India’s gross domestic product (GDP). According to the World Bank, less than one-quarter of women above the age of 15 are employed in India as of 2022. It is noted that women's employment has declined by 27% when compared to 2012 data.

According to Bloomberg Economics 2021 analysis, India is one of the countries with large barriers to female participation in the economy. Female participation is the key to increasing India’s GDP. India’s GDP can grow more than 30% if the female employment gap is closed, the analysis concluded.

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Many states in India have already launched similar initiatives for empowering women. In Maharashtra, women only pay half of the bus fare. The most populous state in India Uttar Pradesh introduced a one-day free transit scheme for Rakshabandhan. Rajasthan launched the same scheme for International Women's Day.

Living on the outskirts of Bengaluru, 39-year-old Chikamma travels half an hour every day from her home to work. She has been working as a domestic helper in Yelahanka, close to the city’s airport for over a decade. She earns INR 20,000 as a salary but the bus fare takes a chunk of her income every month.

With the Shakti program she is able to save about 1,500 rupees every month and her daughter can also freely commute to her college. Chikamma said in regard to the Shakti program, “Earlier, I had money on some days, and on some days I didn’t. Now, I am able to save up for household expenses and emergencies.”

A Benguluru-based independent mobility expert said, “These policies suddenly open up new opportunities for women.”

Free bus transit is one of the solutions to make employment accessible for women in India. According to transport department data, women account for more than half of Karnataka’s bus riders since the Shakti program began. The state also asked for 5,600 more buses to meet the growing demand. Delhi government is also hoping for free metro access for females in the future.