These women will no longer get free travel on Delhi buses; the 'Pink Ticket' scheme will be discontinued..

Women who commute by bus daily in Delhi are set to face a major setback. The Delhi government has decided to discontinue the existing 'Pink Ticket' scheme for free bus travel for women. It will be replaced by the 'Pink Smart Saheli Card.' Under this new system, free bus travel will be available only to women who possess this smart card. Crucially, an Aadhaar card with a Delhi address has been made mandatory to obtain the card. This decision is likely to affect thousands of women—including students and working professionals—who live or work in Delhi but hold Aadhaar cards with addresses from other states.

**Increased difficulties for students from other states**

Female students from across the country come to study at institutions like Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), IP University, and others. A large number of them hail from states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and the Northeastern states. Until now, these students have been availing the benefit of free travel on DTC and cluster buses using the Pink Ticket. However, with the new rules, they will be denied this facility if they do not possess an Aadhaar card with a Delhi address, potentially leading to an increase in their monthly expenses.

**Impact on working women from the NCR**