No free bus travel for women without Saheli cards from August 1
Delhi will require the Saheli Pink National Common Mobility Card for free travel on Delhi Transport Corporation buses from August 1.
- The Delhi Transport Department is shifting free bus travel for women from paper verification to card-based verification.
- Women commuters in Delhi will need the Saheli Pink National Common Mobility Card to continue free travel on DTC buses from August 1, 2026.
- The Saheli Pink National Common Mobility Card system may create access problems for migrant women and transgender persons.
What happened
Delhi Transport Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh has said women commuters in Delhi will not be able to use free travel on Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses from August 1, 2026 unless they have the Saheli Pink National Common Mobility Card. Paper pink tickets will remain valid only until July 31, 2026.
The minister said about 15 lakh cards had already been issued and that issuance would continue through DTC depots and notified centres.
UPSC may frame the Saheli card change as a governance question on how digital verification can reduce leakage and improve transparency while also creating exclusion risks for migrants and transgender beneficiaries in a public welfare scheme.