Pink Saheli Smart Card Required for Free Bus Travel

Starting 1 October, every female passenger boarding a Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) or any cluster bus must swipe a Pink Saheli Smart Card to avail the fare‑free concession. The mandate covers both air‑conditioned and non‑air‑conditioned services, and transgender riders remain eligible under the same scheme.

Why the Policy Shift?

The card, launched in March, operates on the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) platform and supersedes the old pink paper tickets that will be discontinued after 30 September, as announced by the Delhi Transport Department. Officials say a digital solution will boost transparency, streamline data management, and simplify passenger verification.

Awareness Campaign Rolls On

City authorities are amplifying outreach through announcements at bus depots, on‑board messages, social‑media posts and newspaper ads to ensure commuters are aware of the new requirement. To date, roughly 1.9 million women have already obtained a Pink Saheli card, while the rest are being urged to visit the designated registration centres.

Queues Stretch Across Depots

The surge in demand has turned several depots into waiting‑room marathons. On a recent Sunday, long lines snaked through the Shahdara and Hasanpur bus depots, with some applicants arriving as early as 6 a.m.. Many reported spending four to five hours before receiving a card.

The registration process begins with a token and a paper slip bearing a registration number. Applicants are called in sequence, but by early afternoon only about 100 cards had been issued out of roughly 250 tokens distributed, leaving a sizable crowd still waiting.

First‑hand Experiences

  • Geetanjali waited three hours on Sunday after a fruitless visit the previous day, still unsure when her turn would come.
  • Rajkumari, an elderly commuter, was allowed to move ahead and received her card, but her daughter‑in‑law remained stuck in the line.
  • Shaheen was asked by a conductor to show a Pink Saheli Card on the bus, prompting her to join the depot crowd where she endured several more hours of waiting.

Calls for Faster Issuance

The overwhelming number of applications has exposed bottlenecks in the card‑issuance workflow. Commuters are urging the government to speed up registration, increase issuing capacity, and possibly set up mobile or pop‑up centres to reduce repeated trips and marathon waits.

A smoother system would not only ease the transition from paper tickets to smart cards but also guarantee that the promise of free travel remains truly accessible to the city’s women without unnecessary hassle.