After Centre Rejects Free Metro Ride, Delhi Government To Issue Free Pink Ticket To Women For Bus Travel

The Delhi cabinet is likely to approve free travel for women on the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and cluster scheme buses soon. For each ¡®pink¡¯ ticket to be issued for a free ride, the government will reimburse an operator Rs 10, irrespective of the distance travelled.

According to a government source, a cabinet note has already been prepared. ¡°It has been sent to the law and the finance departments, and will be presented before the cabinet soon,¡± he said.

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Though Delhi government plans to provide free travel to women in both Delhi Metro and buses, DMRC will need at least eight months to implement it, and that¡¯s why the government is eager to start it on buses soon, the source said. ¡°As soon as the proposal is approved, DTC will be directed to implement it,¡± he said.

A DTC official said the corporation had submitted two options on implementing the scheme. ¡°One option is to issue tickets to women travellers without charging them and the other is to issue special travel passes for which the government can pay the subsidy to the operators,¡± the official said.

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The fare for travelling in a DTC or cluster bus is Rs 5 for up to 4km, Rs 10 for 4km to 10km, and Rs 15 for journeys beyond 10 km. ¡°On average, a passenger spends Rs 10 on a ride and that is the amount the government can give per ticket,¡± he said.

While DTC would have preferred free passes, the government has gone for tickets, the official said. ¡°Unlike the passes, for which a monthly fee or Rs 800 could have been reimbursed, the government wanted special tickets so that the exact number of trips can be counted and reimbursed.¡± The DTC official, however, claimed that it would have been easier to keep track of ridership through passes and provide the record to the government.

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The DTC buses operate under stage carriage permits, and under Section 124 of the Motor Vehicles Act, free travel is not allowed in them, the official pointed out. ¡°That is why an instrument such as a pass or a special ticket is required to make the scheme legally tenable.¡±

DMRC has also submitted two proposals ¡ª while one involves incorporating the changes in its software and smart cards, the other requires women to buy special tokens at ticket windows or via vending machines.