Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: The Delhi government has set up around 50 centres across the city to facilitate the issuance of the “Pink Saheli” cards and the distribution process will commence from Tuesday.The Pink National Common Mobility card, launched by President Droupadi Murmu on Monday, will provide women and transgender individuals free bus travel and seamless access to multiple public transport systems through a single smart card, in line with the “one nation, one card” initiative.Around 50 centres, including offices of district magistrates and sub-divisional magistrates, along with select Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) locations, have been established for card issuance, according to a statement.“The distribution at the 50 centres will take place from March 3 between 9 am and 5 pm on all days,” the DTC said in the statement.Each pink card will be linked to the beneficiary’s mobile number and Aadhaar to verify age, gender and Delhi residency, the statement said.The pink card will allow eligible women residents of Delhi to travel free of cost on DTC buses and cluster buses and it can also be used for paid travel on other public transport services, including the Delhi Metro and the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS), enabling commuters to use one card across systems.The pink card will replace the existing paper-based pink ticket, offering touch-free travel, digital journey records and improved transparency in revenue, accounting to make public transport more accessible, technology-driven and safer, while reducing the daily commuting expenses of women, the statement added.Three types of mobility cards will be issued under the programme — pink for eligible women residents, blue for general commuters and orange for monthly-pass users. In the first phase, the pink and blue cards will be rolled out, while the orange card will be introduced later, according to the statement.The DTC has authorised Hindon Mercantile Limited (MufinPay) and Airtel Payments Bank Limited to issue the cards, the statement said, adding that the cards will be integrated with the existing automatic fare collection system across the national capital’s public-transport network.The pink card will be provided free of cost at government expense.There is also a dedicated Pink Saheli Card online portal that contains a guide manual in Hindi for women.
