Delhi becomes first city to launch free public transport for Women

New Delhi (Urban Transport News): After launching a free ride in DTC and cluster buses for women passengers, the Delhi added a new record in its name. Now Delhi became the first city in the world which offers free public transport for women. On the eve of Bhaidooj (October 29), Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched free travel in DTC and cluster buses for women passengers. Now women can avail of this facility totally free by using new pink tickets in DTC and Cluster buses being run across the state. At present, about 4.4 million people use DTC and Cluster buses in Delhi. Out of, 1.5 million commuters are the female passengers according to the data shared by the Government. In his tweet, Deputy chief minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia said that Free-ride for women in Delhi buses has started from Bhaidooj. Apart from the safety of women, this scheme will also increase the role of women in Delhi's economy. To ensure safety of the women passengers, the Delhi Government also deployed 9,500 marshals in each of its 5,558 buses from Tuesday. The free-ride for women in public transport scheme is likely to cost the Delhi government Rs 350 crore. According to the present fare pattern, ride in a non-AC bus can cost between Rs 5 and Rs 15 while AC buses charge between Rs 10 and Rs 25. Delhi Government clarified that women travelling in DTC buses which are plying to other NCR cities i.e. Noida, Gurugram, Ghaziabad, and Faridabad can also avail of this scheme at no cost. On June 3 this year, Delhi Chief Minister had announced the plan to offer free rides to women in DTC buses, cluster buses and Delhi Metro Rail network. However, the implementation of free ride scheme in Delhi Metro will take some more time. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is also working on this. The DMRC told the Delhi government that implementing free-ride scheme in the Metro rail would take at least eight months. DMRC is a joint venture entity with equal shareholdings between Centre and Delhi Government.  Whereas the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), which is a completely owned company of the Delhi government. On Wednesday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal travelled in DTC buses to get feedback from Women passengers after launching the scheme. The women commuters welcomed the initiative of the Delhi government and thanked Arvind Kejriwal during the bus ride.