Bengaluru, 22 May

Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy has said that Metro Rail ridership has increased by 30 per cent in the past one year, despite the ‘Shakti’ guarantee offering free rides to Karnataka women to travel across the state on non-luxury government buses.

Reddy was reacting to a reported statement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who said that free travel for women in government buses will affect Metro Rail revenues.

According to Reddy, the Shakti guarantee was implemented in the state on June 11, 2023, and since then the city has reported 67.34 crore free rides by women till 20 May. “Our Metro Rail ridership has increased by 30 per cent in the last one year. In January 2023, the number of Metro rail passengers was 1.65 crore and the revenue was Rs 39.15 crore. In April 2024, the number of passengers increased to two crore and the revenue increased to Rs 51.71 crore,” the minister said in a statement.

According to him, there has been an increase of 35 lakh passengers per month in 2024 compared to 2023, and revenue has increased by Rs 1.10 crore per month. “From these figures, it is clear that the Metro Rail has not been affected in any way by the Shakti guarantee. Instead, there has been a substantial increase in Metro ridership and revenue,” Reddy underlined.

He said it was "not proper" for the prime minister to "suffer from prejudice" and blame the scheme. “Modi is trying to create misconception among people that only those schemes announced by BJP are good, but people know the truth,” Reddy said.