Pink Smart Cards Ignored by Most Women in Delhi — Govt May Make Them Compulsory

Even after more than 5.5 lakh Pink Saheli Smart Cards have been given to women in Delhi, only a small number are using them for free bus travel. As per official data, only about 5–6% of women passengers — around 6,000 to 8,000 — are using these cards right now.

The Pink Saheli Smart Card was launched on March 2 by Droupadi Murmu. The aim was to replace the old pink ticket system with a smart card system under the ‘One Nation, One Card’ plan. This also helps make sure that only women aged 12 and above who live in Delhi can get free travel.

After the launch, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta had said that pink tickets would still be allowed for three months. But officials say most women are still using pink tickets instead of the new card.

Every day, around 23 lakh people travel by bus in Delhi. Out of this, about 6 to 7 lakh are women. Still, many of them have not started using the smart card.

Officials are now planning a survey to find out why the card is not being used much. They want to check if women do not have the card, if some are from outside Delhi, or if bus staff are not asking passengers to use it.

The Delhi Transport Corporation is also planning surprise checks in buses. These checks will see if women are not tapping the card or if conductors are still giving pink tickets.

A senior official said that the government plans to make the smart card the only way to travel free in buses. This rule may start from July. Before that, awareness drives will be done in buses to tell people about the card.

The free bus travel scheme for women started in 2019 under the earlier AAP government. Since then, more than 150 crore pink tickets have been used.

For the year 2026–27, the government has kept ?450 crore for this scheme. Right now, the cards are being made at 58 centres across the city.

Women aged 12 and above can apply for the card using their Delhi Aadhaar and a mobile number linked to it.

Earlier, the Chief Minister also said that DTC has faced a loss of around ?14,000 crore and that the government plans to make the ticket system fully digital.