Bus Ride Is Free For Women In Delhi Now, Will It Ensure Their Safety Too?
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has announced that women in Delhi will be able to travel on DTC and feeder buses for free starting from Tuesday. Under the scheme all women travellers will be issued a pink ticket with a face value of Rs 10 by the conductors however they wont have to pay the amount. The government will reimburse DTC based on the number of such tickets issued.
They may not be safe in the national capital, but Delhi women can now travel free in the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses. Fulfilling one of his ambitious promises, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has announced that women in Delhi will be able to travel on DTC and feeder buses for free, starting from Tuesday.
In August this year, on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan, Kejriwal had announced the scheme as "a gift to our sisters, which will ensure their safety."
BCCL/ REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE
After getting the approval of the transport minister, the notification was issued on Monday, and the free rides will come into effect from Tuesday, the day of Bhai Dooj.
Congratulations Delhi !!!
¡ª Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) October 28, 2019
This is a historic step for women safety and empowerment https://t.co/wjLf4jB0GZ
Under the scheme, all women travellers will be issued a pink ticket with a face value of Rs 10 by the conductors, however, they won't have to pay the amount. The government will reimburse DTC based on the number of such tickets issued.
BCCL/ REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE
According to the government, as many as 1.5 crore pink passes have already been printed and around 10 lakh passes will be issued daily.
There are around 3,700 DTC buses and 1,800 buses under the cluster scheme of the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS).
The free bus rides are likely to benefit millions of women, especially those working in the unorganized sector and low-income jobs who could not afford public transport.
According to the government, the free rides will help in improving the dubious women safety record of the national capital.
BCCL/ REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE
Additionally, the government has also increased the number of marshals in public buses, to nearly 13,000, to ensure the safety of women on board. At present, there are around 3,400 bus marshals in Delhi.
Earlier, in June the Kejriwal government had proposed to make metro rides free for women. However, this did not materialise due to the opposition from the Central government who is also an equal stakeholder in DMRC.
One more time, we would like to as the government, will this ensure women's safety too?
Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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