Delhi govt employees won’t get allowance if they avail free bus scheme: Govt

Addressing the media after the Cabinet meeting, transport minister Kailash Gahlot said that women would be able to avail free rides using “single-journey pass” which would be available with the bus conductors.

Delhi government and other local bodies’ women officials will not be given their travel allowance if they opt for the government’s free transport facility in buses, a government statement said on Thursday. It said the Delhi government will write to the central government too in this regard.

On August 15, the Delhi government announced they would allow free travel on Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses and cluster buses, and the Delhi Metro. (Photo by Sushil Kumar/ Hindustan Times)

On how it will be possible to figure out who has availed the scheme, transport minister Kailash Gahlot said they will base it on an undertaking from the officials, adding that other modalities are still being worked out. The Delhi cabinet, chaired by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, on Thursday gave in-principle approval for the bus scheme.

On August 15, the Delhi government announced they would allow free travel on Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses and cluster buses, and the Delhi Metro. This, it had said, was to improve women’s security in the capital. While the Metro scheme is stuck in technicalities, the government has targeted to roll out the bus scheme by October 29.

“The departments, local bodies, autonomous bodies and others, will take an undertaking from their women government servants to the effect that they are not availing this free travel facility. Transport Department shall also write to ministry of finance, government of India, after the implementation of scheme to consider issuing necessary instructions in this regard to all the Central government ministries departments, and autonomous bodies in Delhi,” the statement said.

Addressing the media after the Cabinet meeting, transport minister Kailash Gahlot said that women would be able to avail free rides using “single-journey pass” which would be available with the bus conductors.

“Free travel scheme will be voluntary which means any woman passenger, who wants to purchase a journey ticket, will be free to do so. But if they wish to avail the benefit of the scheme they will have to get ‘single-journey passes’ from the bus conductor, which will be free. This pass will be valid for one bus ride only,” Gahlot said.

He elaborated that if a woman has to change two buses to reach her destination, she will have to take two passes in the entire journey. It means that every time a woman passenger boards a bus and if she wants to avail free ride, she will have to take pass from the conductors of these buses separately.

He said that in the back-end, each such ticket would cost the government Rs 10 – which is the subsidy it would pay to the DTC and to the private concessionaires for the cluster buses through Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS) Ltd.

“I believe those opposing this step will in future see it as a milestone towards empowerment of women. Poor and lower middle class will get maximum benefit from it,” Kejriwal tweeted.

The facility will be valid for Noida NCR service, airport and other special services operated by DTC and Cluster buses.

The Delhi Assembly had on Monday had approved a supplementary grant of Rs 140 crore to facilitate free ride for women in buses for the current fiscal.

There are around 5500 buses of DTC and Cluster scheme of Delhi Integrated Multi Modal Transit System(DIMTS) that according to latest official figures carry over 45 lakh passengers per day. Nearly 30% of the total ridership of DTC and cluster buses are women passengers.