Boarding in July: Pink Saheli Cards must for women to take free bus rides in Delhi

NEW DELHI: Women commuters travelling for free on Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and cluster buses must use Pink Saheli Smart Cards from July as Delhi govt prepares to phase out the existing pink ticket system introduced in 2019.Women availing the free travel facility will be required to tap their pink cards while boarding buses to register their journey digitally, an official said.The move is aimed at streamlining the subsidy mechanism and integrating the scheme with the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) framework under the Centre’s ‘One Nation, One Card’ initiative, he said.President Droupadi Murmu launched the pink card initiative on March 2 this year. Since registrations began the same month, around six lakh women commuters have obtained the card from 58 centres in the city. However, its usage remains low, with only 5% to 6% of cardholders currently tapping it during travel.Over 10 lakh women take DTC and cluster buses daily, with many of them taking multiple rides.“Most commuters still depend on the pink ticket system because it continues to operate alongside the card,” a senior official said. “Govt wants commuters to gradually make a digital shift before the compulsory system comes into effect.”Authorities clarified that strict enforcement has been deliberately avoided for now because of summer. Awareness campaigns will be conducted on buses and at depots over the next few weeks so that passengers learn how to use the card and know the rules.The facility remains restricted to women living in Delhi. Applicants are required to furnish a Delhi Aadhaar card along with an active Aadhaar-linked mobile number during registration. Any female aged 12 years and above is eligible to apply for the card. Transport officials said the transition to the smart-card system will help eliminate misuse of pink tickets, improve collection of passenger data and ensure greater transparency in subsidy disbursal. The system will also allow authorities to monitor real-time ridership patterns among women.Delhi govt allocated Rs 450 crore in the 2026-27 budget for the continuation of this free travel scheme. The funding will support both operational subsidies and technological integration under the NCMC platform, officials said.DTC plans to conduct a random survey among women passengers travelling on buses to understand why many of them continue relying on the old ticket system. The exercise will also assess issues, such as availability of smart cards, travel by inter-state passengers and whether conductors are urging commuters to tap their cards.Currently, Delhi govt operates around 5,500 buses, with women forming a chunk of the daily ridership. The pink ticket scheme was introduced by the then AAP govt in 2019.