सार्वजनिक जानकारी

• Delhi EV Interconnector (DEVI) Bus Routes DTC circular dated 01/05/2025. These routes are mapped with bus stops in this document.

संगठन और पहलें

• TRIP Centre, IIT Delhi — Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Centre, IIT Delhi is an interdisciplinary academic unit focusing on reducing adverse health effects of road transport.
• Bangalore Bus Prayaanikara Vedike (BBPV) — The Vedike was formed in 2013 and has been campaigning for better BMTC services including reduced fares and addressing sexual harassment on BMTC buses.
• Aamchi MUMBAI Aamchi BEST! (AMAB) — Aamchi MUMBAI Aamchi BEST (AMAB) is a forum of citizens for public transport. AMAB is campaigning to safeguard B.E.S.T Bus Service – one of the main means of transport for majority of Mumbai's working people.
• SUM Net India — Sustainable Urban Mobility Network, a coalition for people-oriented transport policy.
• Citizen consumer and civic Action Group (CAG) — CAG is working with the objective to encourage the provision of comfortable, safe, affordable and seamless public transit services, especially for the urban poor, and to encourage the shift from private to public transport.

अध्ययन

• Gender, Welfare, and Mobility: Impact of Shakti Scheme on BMTC Transport Transformation — Tamoghna Halder and Arjun jayadev: "In the period studied– January 2023 to March 2025, covering both pre- and post-implementation phases – the scheme generated a significant surge in bus usage across the state. With more than 2.89 crore trips recorded, a striking transformation in mobility patterns was observed. Importantly, women riders quickly outnumbered men on many of the busiest routes– especially in the Central Business District, reflecting a major shift in access to and usage of public transport. The ridership gains were particularly sharp in the first six months following the scheme’s launch and have since stabilised, indicating a sustained and regular usage pattern among women.".
• Fare-free Public Transport: A Report by Parisar — Aazim Farooq Bhat (Edited by Tanzeel Allapur): "The study aims to challenge how cities conceive mobility and to lay the foundations for transforming public transport from a commodity into a collective right. The study also sets out to expose and dismantle the deeply established idea that public mobility should be priced and rationed. By critically examining fully fare free public transport systems, we show how eliminating fares can dismantle structures of economic and spatial exclusion, minimise vehicular mobility and maximise passenger mobility and act as an emancipatory revolt against commodification of movement. We also argue that it should not be misunderstood with charity or welfare reform. Fare free contains a radical reassertion of the right to the city, ensuring access not only to transit, but to work, care, education, and public life. To build this argument, we begin with a review of global experiences with fare free public transport drawing lessons on how the removal of fares can expand access, shift travel behaviour, reduce household costs, and reshape urban life. And through a few interviews, we engage directly with everyday transit users to understand how mobility changes when cost barriers are removed and how people navigate their cities under different conditions of access.".
• IMPACT EVALUATION OF THE FIVE GUARANTEES OF THE GOVERNMENT OF KARNATAKA — Tara Krishnaswamy and Lokniti-CSDS: "Women were able to travel for household purchases at markets, sightseeing, etc., together, as friends that almost 60% felt built their sisterhood. This new-found adult agency gave beneficiaries a dignity that 72% reported as boosIng their self-confidence and empowerment".
• Fair Fares: Towards Gender-Inclusive Public Transport — Sumana Narayanan: "CAG surveyed 3000 women across 6 cities to understand the impact of the fare-free public transport scheme for women launched by the Tamil Nadu government. The study found that women were able to save an average of Rs 601 to Rs 800 per month as a result of this scheme. Additionally, the study highlighted that the saved transportation expenses were predominantly invested in the family.".
• Pink Passes – Enhancing Women’s Mobility and Workforce Participation through Improved Public Transport — OECD Observatory of Public Sector Innovation: "the policy is a running example of making mobility more gender inclusive. The scheme provides much impetus to women who intend to step-out and add to family income and the establishment provides an enabling environment for them to do so through an inclusive system for increasing women’s participation in economic activities.".
• Fare-free Public Transit and Women’s Economic Participation: An Analysis of the Shakti Yojane in the Indian State of Karnataka — Raghav Chakravarthy and Prerna Seth (JustJobs Network): "The results from the baseline study indicate that more women are using buses after the introduction of the Shakti scheme... it has eased access to existing work opportunities; this is especially true for self-employed and informal women workers... benefits (are) beyond employment outcomes—free bus transport has enabled women to undertake leisure travel and stay connected with family and friends living in distant places. It has also eased access to healthcare facilities, especially in rural areas, as the cost of traveling to a healthcare centre or hospital in the nearest town/city has reduced."
• Fare-free Bus Travel Scheme for Women: Lessons from Delhi — World Resource Institute: "Delhi introduced India’s first fare-free public transport (FFPT) scheme in 2019, allowing women to travel for free on government buses. The initiative aimed to enhance women’s mobility and safety. Between 2019 and 2023, women’s share of daily ridership increased by 28 percentage points, though challenges such as overcrowding and noncompliance with seat reservations persist. This paper examines the scheme’s impact on transport equity, access to opportunities, and travel safety based on data from 2,010 women surveyed in June 2023."
• Street Harassment and Women’s Educational Choices: A Geospatial Analysis — Girija Borker: "...women choose poorer quality colleges, spend considerably more on transportation, and accept longer commute times in order to travel by routes that are perceived to be safer. In addition to the risks of harassment and assault, an unsafe public sphere inflicts serious educational and economic consequences on women. These costs are felt both immediately and over the course of a lifetime, in the form of reduced labor force participation and earnings."
• Punjab’s Free Bus Scheme Has Changed Women’s Lives But Its Future Is Shaky — Anuj Behal and Dimple Behal (BehanBox): "The number of women commuters has doubled but with no funds, public bus networks are stretched, leading to overcrowding and disrupted schedules"

ब्लॉग और लेख

• You can ride the bus, but do you belong? The hidden cost of Delhi’s Pink Passes - Sumana Narayanan: "Few have tried to understand the significance of the free bus travel scheme that a handful of states have introduced. In Tamil Nadu the benefits for women have been definite and palpable, though issues like poor frequency of women-only buses need to be addressed."
• Freebie or Freedom? Tamil Nadu’s Free Bus Travel Scheme for Women - Afsheen Rizvi: "The Delhi government’s recent decision to replace pink tickets with Aadhaar-linked pink passes (Saheli Smart Card), restricting free bus travel to “residents of Delhi”, is a bureaucratic tweak that betrays the very idea of public mobility as a right. For migrant women, students, informal workers, and those without formal residency proofs, this move erects yet another barrier in a city that already gatekeeps its spaces along class, caste, and communal lines."
• What Free Public Transport Means To Delhi’s Women
• Free Public Transport For Trans Women: Tamil Nadu Addresses Inclusivity In Public Life
• Free Public Transport: Why I Believe It’s Important To Place Empowerment Above Entitlement
• Why Delhi - And India - Need Free Public Transport