The Delhi Government’s initiative of the Pink Saheli Card ensuring free mobility on the DTC buses was launched by President Draupadi Murmu on March 2, 2026, as part of the four schemes dedicated to women. The Chief Minister, Rekha Gupta took a ride on a DTC bus on March 8, to ensure smooth implementation of the Saheli Pink National Common Mobility Card (NCMC), a scheme which offers free rides to women and transgender residents of Delhi. Importantly, while the card is supposed to work for both the bus and the metro, holders of the Pink Saheli card will have to pay regular fare on the latter and for the RRTS services.
But why is the Pink Saheli card called ‘National Common Mobility Card’ if the card will only be issued after an Aadhar or voter’s card verification? Delhi is a city of migrants, and as per the Delhi Economic Survey (2022-2023), cited in a news report, as many as 283,000 people came to the city in search of jobs and opportunities in 2021. Over the years, Delhi’s migration patterns suggest that it continues to remain advantageous in terms of employment as a capital city. Granted that among the large migrant population, women and transgender people would comprise a significantly low fraction, but by making proof of residence a necessary requirement for the Pink Saheli Card, the Delhi government has deliberately denied the facility to commute to sections of working people in the city. The same can be said of the student population which actively includes women as Delhi continues to remain an important centre for higher education for aspiring students from across the country. By offering free rides to women and transgender people against proof of residence verification, the BJP-led Delhi government has politicized a common civic facility meant for all residents of Delhi.
Worse, as per news reports, the facility requires phone verification besides proof of identity. Since the card is going to be accompanied with a photograph of the holder’s name, hasn’t the BJP-led Delhi government not only politicized the matter but also added surveillance to a civic facility which it nonetheless calls, ‘national’? The consequences are not hard to see as it makes travel inside the city into a matter of citizenship with additional surveillance and security.
Like in the case of the mohalla clinics, the Rekha Gupta government has rescripted the pink-ticket system introduced by the AAP government in 2019 and has hailed it as its significant achievement in the arena of women’s empowerment. The timing of the launch coincides with March 8, the International Day of Women. It is a sad comment that on a historic day which is meant for celebrating the socialist roots of women’s right to work, vote and run for office, a day which is meant to be inclusive in recognizing the solidarities of other groups and communities has become an easy tool in the hands of women politicians and their political parties.
Given the political chicanery evident in the eligibility and surveillance criteria of the Pink Saheli Card, PUDR hopes that the people of the city will demand and ensure a more inclusive system for people’s right to travel without inconvenience and surveillance.
Shahana Bhattacharya and Deepika Tandon
(Secretaries)
