Delhi's Saheli Free Bus Cards Remain Inaccessible to Transgender Persons Despite Official Eligibility
Three months after Delhi's March 2025 launch of Saheli cards offering free bus travel to women and transgender persons, many transgender residents report being denied cards at distribution centers despite official eligibility. The scheme explicitly lists transgender persons as beneficiaries, but ground-level implementation reveals inconsistent enforcement, with some officials claiming the provision was discontinued or that backend systems don't support transgender gender markers. The implementation gap highlights a disconnect between policy design and street-level administration that undermines access to a public benefit for a marginalized community.
The Delhi government launched Saheli pink cards in March 2025 to provide free bus travel for women and transgender persons, but The Hindu's investigation of five distribution centers found that transgender applicants are routinely denied cards despite being listed as eligible beneficiaries. Interviews with transgender applicants revealed multiple barriers: some officials claimed the scheme was only for women, others said they had been instructed not to issue cards to transgender persons, and at least one depot reported that backend systems only accept Aadhaar cards marked as "female." While senior Delhi Transport Corporation officials confirmed that all women and transgender persons are eligible and cannot be denied, implementation remains inconsistent across centers. Some applicants with Aadhaar cards listing their gender as female obtained cards but faced technical issues during use, while others were redirected to blue card queues for male passengers. The discrepancy between policy and practice suggests systemic confusion among frontline staff about eligibility criteria and technical limitations in the card issuance system.
What's missing
The article does not explain what specific backend system limitations prevent processing of transgender gender markers, nor does it detail what remedial steps the Delhi government has announced to address the implementation failures. Additionally, the total number of transgender applicants denied cards or the scale of the problem beyond the five centers visited is not quantified.
What different sources said
- The HinduCenter
‘Saheli’ cards for free bus travel prove elusive for trans persons in Delhi
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