Delhi govt sets aside Rs 290 cr for free ride to women in buses, Metro
Rs 142 crore has been allocated for deployment of marshals in buses
New Delhi: The Delhi Assembly on Monday approved Rs 479 crore additional grant for the transport sector. Out of the total Rs 479 crore, Rs 290 crore has been set aside for providing free rides to women in DTC buses and Delhi Metro. The supplementary grant demand, moved by Finance Minister Manish Sisodia, included Rs 140 crore for providing free transport to women on buses and Rs 150 crore for Metro travel. Of the Rs 140 crore, Rs 90 crore has been kept for DTC buses and Rs 50 crore for cluster service buses, the proposal reads.
According to the supplementary demands for grants tabled by Sisodia, the government has set aside Rs 142 crore for deployment of marshals in buses and Rs 47 crore for the regional rapid transit system corridors.
On June 3, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had announced the government's plan to roll out a free travel scheme for women in Delhi Metro and DTC buses. He said the government would subsidise services providers.
"Women can avail free rides on all DTC buses, cluster buses and Delhi Metro. The plan is to encourage women to use public transport, which is considered the safest mode of commuting," Chief Minister Arvind
While Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal had already announced on 15 August that rides on DTC and cluster buses will be free for women from October 29 on the occasion of Bhaiya Dooj. It is likely to be expected that Chief Minister Kejriwal to be announced about free Metro rides for women after Cabinet approval.
According to Chief Minister's official, the step would not only encourage women to use public transport more but also increase their participation in the workforce.
"The female workforce participation nationally is 27 per cent, but it is only 11 per cent in Delhi... We hope the scheme will encourage more and more of our womenfolk to go out to work."
Sisodia said the scheme will not impose any congestion in the Metro as its capacity was 40 lakh. "The ridership of the Metro was 28 lakh per day in March 2017. Today, it has dropped to 25 lakh, after the metro fares were hiked. This step will add an extra one lakh female passengers to the daily ridership. There will be no congestion in the Metro." said Sisodia.
