Data from redBus shows steady rise in women travellers from Karnataka

redBus data reveals a significant 76% rise in solo women travelers from Karnataka since 2019, highlighting increasing independence in travel.

State-level insights from a report by online bus ticketing platform redBus show a steady rise in women’s participation in intercity bus travel across Karnataka.

According to the company’s internal data that encapsulates private and RTC buses available on the platform, women travellers grew by 103% in 2025, compared to 2019, outpacing the growth of overall travellers in Karnataka.

Another interesting trend showed that solo travel by women increased by 76% compared to 2019, highlighting a strong shift towards independent journeys. 

Incidentally, Shakti Scheme that provides free travel to women in non-premium services of RTCs was introduced in Karnataka in July, 2023, and has since encouraged women travel, data shows.

The redBus Pink Report was released during International Women’s History Month, based on internal data between 2019 and 2025.

According to the report, Karnataka is also one of the top eight States for women’s travel. The result was an outcome of evaluation based on women’s share of travellers nationally, the proportion of solo women travellers, and the number of women undertaking long-distance journeys ( more than 500 km). The other top States include Assam, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Telangana, Pondicherry, and Arunachal Pradesh.