[roby_dk]

New Delhi: Woman in Delhi can soon travel free on public transport, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced today, days after his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was wiped out in all seven Lok Sabha seats in the recent national election.
The move, which is yet to be cleared by the centre, will be launched in three months, said Mr Kejriwal, adding that it would cost the Delhi government Rs 700 crore this year. On whether he needed to run the plan by the Centre, given Delhi's partial statehood status, he replied in the negative.

Officers have been given a week to prepare a detailed report after which a proposal will be brought in the cabinet, he said.
The Delhi Metro is partly run by the central government.

"Those who want to buy tickets are free to do so, they need not take the subsidy. Several women can afford these modes of transport. Those who can afford it, can buy tickets and forgo subsidy so others could benefit," he explained.

The Delhi Chief Minister said his government would bear the cost of free rides for women on the Delhi Metro and public buses.

"Delhi is the only government that is honest and is spending your money on facilities and is still running on profit," Mr Kejriwal said.

On Twitter, many shared their doubts about the Delhi government plan. "Metro is from certain point to another point - we have to take auto/bus in the night to reach home," a user pointed out, questioning the logic of free Metro travel.

An AAP leader replied: "It incentivises women who cannot afford to take the Metro to start using it, which is a safer option for them than using ride sharing, autos, private buses at night."

Don't want to go into any political debate but is this the solution for women safety in Delhi. I am not able to relate it though.


Source: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ndt...akamai-rum=off

[ValarMorghulis]

Short sighted and foolish decision. Instead the money earned could be used to deploy more police and improve security.

[sgiitk]

I am surprised that both the major English channels (Times Now & Republic) attacked it. Have we now started looking at costs. I am wondering where we have gone from Keynesian to Hayekian!

[roby_dk]

Originally Posted by ValarMorghulis

Short sighted and foolish decision. Instead the money earned could be used to deploy more police and improve security.

Exactly we can improve by adding more police staff. Increasing surveillance at odd hours and what not. Making things free will definitely add burden to the government.

[rovingeye]

The vicious cycle of robbing tax payer's money to run dubious populist schemes to stay in power must stop. We must punish any politician that comes up with such schemes.

[saket77]

Let me reply...or better to say express my disappointment towards this poor move.

This will be a shame if implemented as this is a politically motivated move and wastage of tax payer's money which, in first place, should have been used to provide facilities to the people of Delhi and upgrade the infrastructure of the state rather than distributing freebies to equally capable women. And pray tell me Mr. CM that how this leads to 'upliftment' and 'security' of women, the theme around which the entire case is being woven.

Not to mention that after some time, all the burden will be passed on to the male travelers (I feel bad even writing the term 'male travelers') in form of increased fares. And let me put it in figures, that the estimated cost of this populist move on tax payer's money will cost approx Rs. 1000 crores per year. This is not feminism but 'insultism'!

I really hope that Delhi Metro being a 50:50 venture between the State and Central Govt, the Central Govt. along with DMRC (Delhi Metro Rail Corp.) use their veto and scrap this foolish idea right at the infancy.

Besides this, the move is fundamentally unconstitutional as the Indian Constitution states that there will be no discrimination among people on the basis of gender, among other things.

[GrammarNazi]

It's a decision to get into the nascent stage whereby the state affords public transport for disadvantaged sections of society.

Disadvantaged women will have one less barrier to consider if they're hesitating to get out of their home for any purpose.

I believe its unfounded fearmongering to assume & propagate that safety would be compromised if cost of Public transport is borne by the state.

[avisidhu]

Well, if it reduces a significant number of cars from plying on the road, then the solution could have made sense. Although chances are that someone who can afford owning and driving a car, wouldn't be bothered much. Maybe last mile connectivity with women only transport could help? But then again, both metro and buses during peak hours are pretty much filled to the brim.

Politics behind the move aside, the day to day problems faced by females in Delhi are so enormous that anything which can help their plight is welcome. Not every move has to be well intended to have a positive impact, and vice versa. History is replete with self serving schemes which eventually ended up making a tangible difference the the livelihood of impacted segments. It's certainly a knee jerk reaction with poll benefits in mind. But whether it's effective over a medium/long term or not, I would reserve judgement.

[sushantr5]

Initially I was also critical about this view but after reading view in this article, this move will make some sense.
https://www.newslaundry.com/2019/06/...ides-for-women

[saket77]

Originally Posted by sushantr5

Initially I was also critical about this view but after reading view in this article, this move will make some sense.
https://www.newslaundry.com/2019/06/...ides-for-women

I can travel from one end of metro to another in Rs. 50/- which is the max fare (payable by metro card). That means that I can travel to Dwarka to Noida in Rs. 50/-. Before the fare hike, that must have been Rs. 45 or at the least Rs. 40.

So, that article claims that women in order to save Rs. 5 or 10 are now opting for shared cabs which is endangering the safety of women? That is such a foolish analysis. Let me know of a cab that will take you such a distance for less than Rs. 300/- let alone Rs. 5 or 10

[pramodkumar]

Not trying to get political, but here are my two cents.

The Delhi-NCR region police is not under the state, its under the center, so improving police force is ruled out.

Now a bit of story, I left Delhi for good in 2007, since then; I have been in Delhi for a few days till 2017. In 2004-2007 we used to regularly go to Zaika on the Delhi Gurgaon Highway and seeing woman along with male colleagues at various dhabhas and watering holes at midnight or a couple of hours passed that, was not something unexpected. Its really hard to believe now woman cant roam out even after 6:00 PM. Our office has a location in Gurgaon and the ladies cannot stay beyond 6 PM, if they do due to pending work the managers get in real trouble, I am made of believe that most of the offices follow the same rule.

During my stay in Delhi-NCR I used to see a lot of women working in small factories leaving for their homes at dusk, lot of these women would rely on the various empty cabs or share autos. The main reason these women would use the above "unsafe" modes of transport is mainly because they cannot afford other modes of transport.

Most of these share autos and empty cabs are used to reach the nearest metro station or the nearest bus stops. If their onward journey is free then they can worry little less on spending that money on a "safer" mode of transport.

I know the Delhi Government's move is extremely unorthodox but they have taken a step, the situation is grave. This would definitely put a burden on the taxpayer, The question is are the people of Delhi really not seeing any merit in this decision and is purely seen as a move to woo voters.

Pramod

[LiCoO2]

If the motive here is to make women travel safely, they should be putting CCTV cameras and Marshals in the DTC buses, something that they promised. They can also pay CISF more money to increase the number of soldiers in metros.

They can also give poor women free travel passes or they can directly send them a subsidy to their normal or Jan dhan bank accounts.

This is will not only save a lot of money, but it will also ensure that money reaches the people who need their help the most.

[deemash]

Is this not pure gender bias ? Imagine making it free for men, then you see.

[sushantr5]

Originally Posted by pramodkumar

Not trying to get political, but here are my two cents.

Also giving the free facility means, more women will come out and they can also increase their area of work. Men to women ratio will improve at public places. More women workforce will be available in the market. More savings for breadwinner women ( mostly poor and widowed ), which in turn will have indirect benefit.

Not everything shall be seen as comparatively between old fare and new fare. It is complete Rs.50 saving for women daily, and which is really big amount for poor family. This amount may seem minuscule for us. But reality of India is massive income disparity.

Not everything has to be done for profit. Some decisions are meant to enable the society. Empowering women is really important, it has impact economically on family same as impact had by having a literate women in the illiterate family initially, which makes entire family literate in due course.

Safety is one aspect but this decision will have long term impact on women population of Delhi.

[VVN]

Originally Posted by deemash

Is this not pure gender bias ? Imagine making it free for men, then you see.

It is but then I am afraid it is needed. Don't get me wrong, I am not a pseudo feminist but even in this very forum, I have seen so many members associating the other half as 'Home Ministry' as if it was a fixed role. Why can't it be the other way round?

I am not sure about the intention of the CM or even if this move makes sense. But we need some sort of gender bias in this country until the situation for women improves. Also, I agree that the money could have been spent in improving surveillance in and around crime prone areas, as has been pointed out by other members.