Delhi Makes Pink Saheli Card Mandatory for Free Bus Travel

By: Women Entrepreneurs Review Team | Saturday, 11 July 2026

The Delhi government has made the 'Pink Saheli' smart card compulsory for women seeking free travel on the city's bus network, effective August 1. According to government authorities this is a step to help improve the management and monitoring of the free public transport system meant for women in the city.

To promote the usage of the smart card among the women passengers, Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) has launched an awareness campaign amongst its bus service. This step has been taken because the rate of enrolment is very low, and it is important that women passengers be made aware of the new system before it is made mandatory.

“With effect from August 1, pink tickets shall be issued only to those women passengers who have a valid Pink Saheli smart card, which they need to tap at the time of boarding. These passengers will continue to avail free bus service as per the terms of the scheme,” the DTC said in its order.

Key Highlights:

• Pink Saheli smart card becomes mandatory for free bus travel from August 1
• Delhi opens 50 enrolment centres; targets 13 lakh smart card registrations
• Women without the Pink Saheli card must pay regular bus fares from August 1

The government has opened 50 enrollment centers in Delhi through which people can apply for the smart card. It has been reported that around 11 lakh smart cards have been issued till now and the government aims to issue 13 lakh smart cards by the end of July.

“From August 1, women passengers who do not have a Pink Saheli card shall not be issued pink tickets and shall be required to purchase normal tickets by paying the applicable fare for travelling in DTC and DoT [Cluster] buses," the order said.

It further added, “All eligible women under the scheme may obtain the Pink Saheli smart card from the notified centres, counters as per the directions issued by the transport department and DTC from time to time,"

In the new system, women travelers without a valid pink saheli smart card will not be entitled to receive free pink tickets; instead. Women who fail to use their valid Pink Saheli smart card upon boarding the bus will have to pay for normal bus tickets.

Eligible women over 12 years of age can obtain the Pink Saheli smart card through DTC depots and special camps in the city by using their Delhi Aadhaar card.

The process for offline pink card delhi application began from 3 March 2026. Till date, there is no provision to apply for the DTC pink card online. It has to be applied for at the offices of DC, SDM, or the authorised centers of DTC in Delhi.

The pink saheli smart card is the first of its kind introduced by the Government of Delhi for providing free travel without any limit to all women and transgender people residing in Delhi who are more than 5 years old.