Starting from Tuesday i.e. October 29, Delhi women can travel free in the state-run buses as part of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s “free-ride” scheme. It is to be noted that the availing of the free-ride scheme is optional. However, the female passengers opting for free travel will be issued a pink single-journey ticket.
It is worth mentioning here that the free-ride” scheme is also applicable for the women travelling in DTC buses plying to other NCR cities such as Noida, Gurugram, Ghaziabad and Faridabad. For the safety of women passengers, marshals have been posted in each of 5,558 DTC buses.
In a series of tweet, Aam Aadmi Party said, “#BhaiDooj - The day has finally arrived! Women in Delhi can now TRAVEL FREE and TRAVEL SAFE in our DTC and Cluster Buses. A huge leap towards gender equality as this ensures both the women's safety and increase in the mobility of women across Delhi to pursue education and jobs.”
Take a look:
Currently, a ride in a non-AC bus costs between Rs 5 and Rs 15. On the other hand, AC buses charge between Rs 10 and Rs 25. The scheme will cost the government around Rs 350 crore in the first year. The combined daily ridership of cluster and Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses in Delhi is about 4.4 million. According to government data, nearly 35% are female passengers.
The notification for the “free-ride scheme” was issued late Monday night. Earlier in the day, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had said that the government will implement the free bus ride scheme for women from tomorrow. “To ensure women, students, senior citizens and every passenger feel safe during public transit, we are deploying marshals in every bus from Tuesday,” Kejriwal had said.
CM Kejriwal had on June 3 first announced his government’s plan to offer free rides to women in DTC buses and cluster buses.
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