Explained: Delhi's New 'Free Bus Pass' Scheme For Capital's 10 Lakh Labourers

The Delhi government declared the 'Free Bus Pass' scheme as a "Labour Day present," which will benefit approximately 10 lakh labourers in Delhi. This plan is open to electricians, masons, carpenters, welders, security personnel, and other labourers working on the construction site, according to Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.

What is the new ¡®Free Bus Pass¡¯ scheme?

Joining the line of waiver for women, construction labourers can now ride for free in Capital's Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and cluster bus services. Over 1.1 lakh labourers are projected to function in Delhi, with approximately a million of them enrolled with the Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare Board (DBOCWWB), an independent body under the Delhi administration.

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Due to the city's lengthy ranges, as well as the costs involved and transit time, numerous employees are forced to search for jobs close to their houses, or to reside, at times with their family members, in short term makeshift shelter on construction sites.

The pass is available to labourers such as welders, mistris, labourers, porters, painters, fitters, metalworkers, security staff, concrete mixers, crane and pump technicians, and those involved in polishing and tiling tasks, among others.

The pass will be valid for 3 months and can be renewed for yet another 3 months.

Labourers who wish to enrol with the DBOCWWB are required to apply on the DTC's webpage or visit one of the board's 34 enrollment booths located throughout the city. They can even submit an application for an e-pass or a paper pass that will be handed within 3-4 days or a week, depending on the nature of pass.

As per construction board functionaries, only 5-10% of licensed workers currently use bus services to get to work, and only 2-5% use the Metro.

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"Labourers make on average between Rs 300 and Rs 600 a day. Many of them use cycles to reach their worksites or look for jobs near where they live. Many staff come from states such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand. They largely live in makeshift shelters near building sites to avoid spending their meagre income on commuting," a board official explained.

"With the free pass system, we hope that more labourers will use buses, expanding their employment options throughout the city," said the official.

Will it not be a drain on government resources?

As per The Indian Express, the current quarterly e-pass costs Rs 2,280 for non-air conditioner buses and Rs 2,850 for AC buses. If a consumer requests a paper pass delivered to their houses, a delivery fee of Rs 33 is charged.

"According to the government, there are around 10 lakh licensed workers working in Delhi's construction sites." So, if most of these labourers apply for the pass, the government's subsidy bill for 3 months will cost around Rs 228-285 crore," a government representative was quoted in the report as saying. "It will be 4 times that amount for the entire year."

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The plan will be completely funded by the Delhi government, with no financial consequences for DTC. "DTC will incur no losses." It's not the first time that a scheme is providing travel subsidies. Subsidies and special offers are already available to groups such as women, students, seniors, and others. "The revenue comes from the government," another official explained.

Other groups availing these subsidies

The Kejriwal government introduced free passes for all women in 2019. According to experts, waiving public transportation fares for women citizens offers them with unregulated public transport access, which serves two purposes. It ensures protection by transitioning from less formal and more unsafe means of transport to more structured and safer modes. It also contributes to women's economic empowerment by considerably promoting access to education and assisting them in entering the labour force.

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Furthermore, the decision to make public transportation free for women is part of the Delhi government's "Trickle Up Economics" narrative. It focuses on building the financial system from the ground up by investing in human capital through carefully targeted subsidies and generating unprecedented social infrastructural development.

DTC's female commuters was 1.7 crore in March 2022, as well as the corporate entity receiving Rs 17 crore from the sale of pink tickets that month. However, there may be some overlap in the claimants of the free women's and worker's passes.

The sale of pink tickets was hampered by the Covid-19 pandemic, lockdowns, and bus passenger capacity restrictions. According to officials, overall female commuters have increased since March. DTC buses presently transport approximately 24 lakh people on weekdays and 22.5-23 lakh on weekends and holidays.

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