Overview
- The state launched Priyadarshini on June 15 to give free travel to women and transgender people on KSRTC ordinary buses, and the one-month report presented July 16 uses KSRTC electronic ticket data to measure results.
- Official figures show daily women ridership roughly doubled from about 5–6 lakh to about 12.1–12.7 lakh, with 3.81 crore journeys recorded in the first month under the scheme.
- KSRTC and the transport minister reported lower fuel and carbon per passenger (from 504 kg to 404 kg per 1,000 passengers) and a 30–48% rise in travel to hill destinations such as Malakkappara and Gavi.
- Media and industry estimates put the scheme’s cost at about Rs 60 crore a month (annualized near Rs 710–720 crore), and private operators have reported daily revenue declines attributed to the free rides.
- The government has proposed depot-level Transport Management Committees and asked KSRTC to seek new revenues such as advertising, while labour-payment and temporary-staff dismissal claims remain contested and are under review.