Premium

From August 1, women need this ‘pink’ smart card for free bus travel in Delhi

Women passengers without a smart card will not be issued pink tickets and will instead have to purchase regular tickets, a Delhi government circular read.

DTC will continue issuing pink tickets to eligible passengers till July 31.

4 min readJul 10, 2026 10:13 PM IST First published on: Jul 10, 2026 at 02:09 PM IST

From August 1, women travelling on Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses in the Capital will have to carry a “Pink Saheli Smart Card” to continue availing the free bus travel scheme. With this, the existing paper-based pink tickets will be phased out.

According to a circular issued by the DTC, pink tickets will continue to be issued to eligible women passengers till July 31. As announced by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta earlier, the card will provide free travel on DTC buses only to women residents of Delhi.

From August 1, free travel can only be availed by women who possess a valid Pink Saheli Smart Card (National Common Mobility Card) and tap it while boarding DTC buses and cluster buses operated by the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS).

Passengers without the smart card will no longer be issued pink tickets after July 31. They will have to purchase regular tickets and pay the applicable fare, the circular read.

The initiative was launched by President Droupadi Murmu on March 2.

Under this, the Delhi BJP government replaced the ticketing system launched by the previous AAP government in 2019 with the Centre’s ‘One Nation, One Card’ initiative through the Pink NCMC card, making the free travel restricted for only Delhi residents.

Officially the "Pink Saheli Smart Card Yojana" — its core mission is women's empowerment, safe travel, and financial support, while digitizing the old paper ticket system to prevent misuse and enable data-driven, better bus services across Delhi.

Card Type

NCMC Smart Card

Tech Partner

Airtel Payments Bank + Muthoot Pay

Launched

2 Mar 2026

Distribution From

3 Mar 2026

CARD INFO ELIGIBILITY

Card Type	NCMC (National Common Mobility Card) Based Digital Smart Card
Technology Partner	Airtel Payments Bank + Muthoot Pay
What's on the Card	Applicant's Name, Photo, QR Code & Basic Details
Where It's Valid	DTC Buses + Cluster Buses (Free) / Delhi Metro (After Recharge)
How to Use	Simply tap the card on the conductor's ETM Machine — Done!
Launch Date	2 March 2026
Distribution Started	3 March 2026 onwards

✓

Applicant must be a Delhi resident (woman or transgender)

✓

Age must be 5 years or above

✓

Must possess a valid ID proof (Aadhaar Card / Voter ID)

✓

Must have a Delhi residential address on the ID proof

All four criteria must be met to apply for the Saheli Pink Card.

Data as of March 2026 · Based on official DTC/Delhi Government Saheli Pink Card scheme details.

Express InfoGenIE

How to apply for a Pink Saheli Smart Card

The DTC has directed conductors and all enforcement staff to advise women passengers that they should obtain their Pink Saheli Smart Card from the nearest designated Pink Card/Pass Distribution Centre before July 31 so that they can continue to avail free travel facility.

The circular also instructed depot managers to ensure that conductors are properly counselled regarding the instructions so that no eligible woman commuter is wrongly denied free travel where she has and produces a valid Pink Saheli Smart Card.

“Women passengers without cards are politely informed of the requirement to obtain the card and, till then, charged the prescribed fare through normal tickets,” the circular read.

Numbers so far

The daily average ridership, officials said, is estimated to be around 23 lakh, including journeys through tickets and bus passes. Of this, 6 to 7 lakh are women riders.

“But we have observed that in comparison to this, the Pink Smart Card is not being used even by 50%… This means that the remaining are still travelling through Pink passes…So to ensure women and only residents of Delhi avail the benefit, the government will strictly implement Pink Smart Card travel from next month,” said a senior DTC official.

Transport Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh said that nearly 15 lakh Pink Saheli Smart Cards have already been issued and majority of women are regularly availing the facility through the card.

He urged all eligible women who are yet to obtain the card to complete the registration process at the earliest.

Singh said, “There is absolutely no reason for anyone to panic… women possessing the Pink Saheli Smart Card will continue to travel free of cost…I appeal to all our mothers and sisters who have not yet obtained the card to do so at the earliest. The card offers multiple benefits besides free travel and will help bring greater transparency, efficiency and accountability to the system.”

He said that even after July 31, the process of issuing Pink Saheli Smart Cards will continue at DTC depots and Special Camps, and the Delhi Government will ensure that no eligible beneficiary is deprived of this facility.