Delhi govt plans to add 50 ‘ladies special’ buses

The Delhi government plans to expand its ladies special bus service by adding around 50 buses, officials said on Saturday.

According to officials, the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) will run 25 ladies special buses, which will be student-centric U-special, and the remaining 25 will be for Outer Delhi areas.

“We plan to start 50 ladies’ special buses soon under the PM e-Drive scheme. Initially, 25 of these buses will be deployed in Outer areas and 25 as University Specials,” a senior government official said.

Officials said the transport department has identified some areas, and work is ongoing for other areas as well.

“The ladies special buses would only be for women travellers. We had some ladies special buses running earlier, but now we plan to expand in a more structured way. There will be more safety features in the buses,” another official said.

The government is also studying the usage of Saheli Pink Smart Cards, and Pink tickets are being analysed to determine corridors where demand for women-only services is high, he added.

Earlier this month, the Delhi government launched 300 electric buses, taking the total fleet of the Delhi Transport Corporation to nearly 6,600 buses, including 4,845 electric buses and 1,755 CNG buses.

The Delhi government aims to build a modern fleet of around 14,000 buses by 2028-29.

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has said the newly inducted buses are low-floor, air-conditioned vehicles designed to provide passengers with safe, comfortable and accessible travel, including for persons with disabilities.

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