The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) was established in 1958, having previously operated as the Delhi Transport Undertaking (DTU). It was granted full corporate status in 1971, along with several forms of autonomy — including the ability to maintain a Board of Directors, purchase buses, hire staff, implement fare policies with government approval, and receive financial assistance. The state government can manage the corporation's finances and cover its losses.
The corporation is obligated to ensure that buses meet fitness standards, that drivers and conductors are properly trained, and that passenger safety remains a top priority. Section 8 of the Road Transport Act, 1950 makes it mandatory to provide the public with adequate, affordable, and quality transport services — making it clear that the purpose of public transport is not profit, but public welfare.
Today, a large part of DTC has been handed over to private entities in the name of loss-reduction. The entire maintenance department is now with private companies, and bus operations under the Cluster scheme (DIMTS) have also been privatised. As a result, drivers and conductors are pressed into duty without adequate training, merely to fill a quorum. Passenger safety — once the corporation's highest priority — has been severely compromised.
Buses parked haphazardly, stops being skipped, passengers being picked up and dropped in the middle of the road, irregular schedules, and rude behaviour toward commuters have all become commonplace. What was once a safe and accessible public service has become difficult and unsafe to use.
The Kejriwal government had deployed marshals on buses for passenger safety and order, but they have since been replaced by home guards, who are often seen sitting in a seat, scrolling on their phones or dozing off. Bus shortages and irregular services have also made pickpockets a persistent menace. Commuters are robbed directly by pickpockets and indirectly by DTC's own policies. Daily passes worth ₹40 and ₹50 are not valid on all buses. When a passenger unknowingly boards a bus where their pass is not accepted — something that is not easy for ordinary people to identify — they are slapped with a ₹200 fine by a checker.
Monthly passes costing ₹815 and ₹1,015 are not reissued if lost or stolen, even though DTC maintains passenger records and could easily verify and reissue them through due process. Despite this, the pass explicitly states it will not be reissued if lost. Passengers who opted for passes to save money end up paying twice. The ₹40 daily and ₹815 monthly passes have been rendered nearly obsolete, since most buses in Delhi are now air-conditioned, and these passes are not valid on AC buses. Commuters are effectively forced to purchase the ₹50 daily or ₹1,015 monthly pass.
Since October 29, 2019, the Kejriwal government provided women with free bus travel under the Pink Ticket scheme, paying DTC ₹10 per ticket. According to a report published in Navbharat Times on February 14, 2022, approximately 24 crore women availed this scheme in 2021 alone, meaning the government spent around ₹240 crore. From October 2019 to February 2022, total expenditure on the scheme was approximately ₹484 crore.
Despite this being a relatively modest investment, its impact on women was remarkable. A World Resources Institute (WRI) study found that women reported savings of ₹500 to ₹2,500 per month, and an approximately 8 percent reduction in household expenses. Sixty-two percent of women said they used the free bus service for work and education. The study also found that the scheme improved women's access to healthcare, education, and employment.
Now, the Delhi government is launching the 'Saheli Pink Smart Card.' It was launched on March 2 at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium by President Droupadi Murmu. However, the card will only benefit women who have an Aadhaar card with a Delhi address and are above 12 years of age. This means that female students from outside Delhi, migrant women workers, and girls under 12 years old — precisely those who most need free bus services — will be excluded. The benefit may now largely be confined to government employees and women in regular salaried jobs.
There is a growing concern that this change will hurt the women who had been benefiting the most. Women who study or do small jobs in Delhi to support their families also contribute indirectly to the tax system, yet they are being shown the door by this new scheme. The broader impact of this shift on women's mobility and self-reliance urgently needs to be debated. This change could reduce women's presence in workplaces, constrain their ability to step out freely in search of employment, limit their access to healthcare — they previously could easily catch a bus to the hospital for even minor ailments — and negatively affect education. Longer waiting times will mean longer travel times altogether. We must not view women's free bus travel through a political lens.
Delhi's population has crossed two crore, yet rather than increasing the number of buses, the fleet has actually shrunk. Currently, approximately 5,336 buses are operating. International standards recommend at least 60 buses per one lakh population. For a population of 2.5 crore, Delhi would need at least 15,000 buses. Cities like London and Singapore have around 100 buses per one lakh residents — by that standard, Delhi would need 25,000 buses. Assessed by area, the requirement is 8 to 10 buses per square kilometre. Given Delhi's area of approximately 1,484 square kilometres, that too amounts to a minimum of 15,000 buses.
Due to this shortage, average waiting times have reached 25 to 30 minutes — and between 1 pm and 4 pm, it can stretch to one or two hours. This is precisely when schools let out and workplace shifts change. Overcrowding at bus stops and on buses follows, and drivers sometimes refuse to stop on seeing the crowds, making things worse. People lose not just time but money. Children fail to reach school on time. Workers arrive at their workplaces exhausted. Women and the elderly find their mobility severely curtailed.
The bus shortage disrupts citizens' daily movement and limits access to education, employment, and healthcare. Long waiting times, closure of essential routes, and prioritisation of select corridors all run contrary to the fundamental purpose of public transport and violate the spirit of the Road Transport Act, 1950.
The government must take the following steps: daily passes should be valid on all buses; a system should be in place to reissue lost or damaged passes based on records; the free bus scheme should be extended broadly to benefit poor migrant women and female students; the older minimum rates of ₹40 daily and ₹815 monthly should be honoured across all buses; Delhi's bus fleet should be increased to at least 15,000; drivers and conductors should receive proper training; all buses should mandatorily stop at every bus stop; buses should run regularly from 5 am to 11 pm; and buses should pull safely to the kerb at bus stands when boarding and alighting passengers.
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*Social worker and journalist
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