Karnataka Free Bus Pass Scheme For Students: Eligibility and Documents

To reduce the daily burden of travel expenses, the state government of Karnataka announced the Free Bus Pass Scheme for Students. So that every student can easily visit their educational institute and get an education.

Government trying to make education accessible for every student in the state. All the students who are getting an education from schools, colleges and doing different courses and diplomas are going to get the benefits of the scheme. But at the time of announcement of the scheme, the government provided that the benefits of this Free Bus Pass scheme were only to the students who were studying in the state. But now, in the new announcement extended the free Bus scheme benefits have been extended to students who are studying outside the state too.

Now, all the students who are studying inside or outside of the Karnataka state have to pay attention to this blog. In this article, I am going to tell you how you can get the benefits of this Karnataka Free Bus Pass Scheme for Students, how to get the Free Bus Pass, where to apply for it, eligibility criteria, and documents needed for it. Kindly check the whole process.

Karnataka Free Bus Pass Scheme for students

With the help of this scheme, the state government of Karnataka provide the free bus travel by issuing free Bus passes to all the students, i.e. for both Girls and Boys. The free Bus pass facilities are available from the primary education level to the postgraduate level. By showing their Free Bus pass, students can easily travel from one place to another, i.e. from home to their institute, through ordinary buses using the state-run operating buses inside the state.

But at present, the government of Karnataka has extended its scheme for the students who are studying outside of Karnataka state. After the announcement of the extension of the benefits of the scheme, a total of 2764 bus passes will be distributed to the students. All the Boys and Girls students can travel at free of Cost with KSRTC, KKRTC< NWKRTC and BMTC buses.

Free Bus Pass Scheme for students in Karnataka

Features of the scheme

• Beneficiaries Cover: This scheme is going to cover both male and female students of the state who are studying in the State of Karnataka and outside of the state.
• Travel Limit: The pass will be valid for up to 60 Kilometres from the home to the institute.
• Buses: All the state-run ordinary buses like KSRTC, BMTC, NWKRTC and KKRT.

Eligibility Criteria for Students

The latest guidelines for the eligibility Criteria for the students were issued on 12th June 2026 at the time of making a new amendment in the scheme. Check the details given below:-

• The facilities of the Free Bus Passes will be given to every student in the state.
• You must be a permanent resident of the state.
• Students can be studying in Karnataka state and neighboring state.
• You need to provide the details about your academic background.
• Show your Distance limit from the house to the school
• Existing students can also extend the validity of the pass.

Documents Required for Bus Pass

• School or institute ID Card
• Academic Record
• Distance Details

How to get the Karnataka Free Bus Pass Scheme for students?

Every eligible student can apply for the Free Bus Pass only after applying online. Students need to apply with the help of the Seva Sindhu Portal and need to fill out the form. It is also important for all the students to submit all the necessary documents while applying.

How to Get a Refund of the Karnataka Bus Pass Fee?

But the students who already have the same pass can use the same pass for travel. But the students who already purchased the pass will get their money refunded within 15 days from the date of the announcement. Till date, a total of 19,792 students have pass after paying the fee amount. At present, the government has set all the formalities to pay back the refund.

Accidental Insurance For Students

Not only the free bus travel given to the students, but the Karnataka government also added additional benefits for the students. All the Free bus pass holder students are also covered under the Accidental Insurance scheme. They just have to pay the monthly premium amount of Rs. 5 to the government. The processing fee of Rs. 100 will be paid by the Government to the Karnataka Transport Corporation.

Karnataka Free Bus Scheme For Students: Apply Online

• Open Seva Sindhu Portal: You can only submit the online application form to get a free Bus pass through the Karnataka Seva Sindhu Portal.
• Create New Account: If you are going to register for the first time, then you have to create the account using your credentials.
• Login: Now have to login in to the account and fill the Bus Pass application form, writing the complete details.
• Download Pass Declaration: After submitting the details, you need to download the Students’ bus pass declaration and then get the signature of your higher authority on the same declaration page for verification.
• Upload Documents: Now, with the Pass declaration, you have to upload all the documents and then select the Pass issuing counter.
• Collect Pass: Once your application is approved, you can collect your Free Bus Pass.

FAQs