Moumita Pal has missed two days of work and taken a pay cut to queue up at the pass section of the Sarojini Nagar Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) depot. It is her second attempt to obtain the Pink National Common Mobility Card (PNCMC), or Saheli card, a Delhi government scheme allowing women to travel for free on DTC buses.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government’s welfare initiative, launched by President Droupadi Murmu in March, replaces the pink ticket system introduced by the previous Aam Aadmi Party government.

“I waited in the queue for nearly two hours last week, but the server was down, so none of us could get the pink card,” said Ms. Pal, a daily wager, claiming that technical glitches in the implementation of the welfare measure have cost her a lot of time and money.

Unlike the earlier pink ticket system, which covered all women commuters, the Saheli card is provided only to women with a Delhi address proof. Fifty designated centres across the Capital, including District Magistrate and Sub-Divisional Magistrate offices and select bus stations, are listed for card issuance.

Dayawati, a domestic worker, says the government has left “migrant women out” of the new scheme’s scope. “Earlier, pink tickets not only allowed us to save but also provided a safe commute. Now, it is dangerous to cycle and expensive to take e-rickshaws,” she said.

At the DTC pass section in Nehru Place, Nisha, a migrant worker from Assam, says she is glad she shifted her registered address to Delhi. “I stay in Sunlight Colony and took up work in Bharat Nagar only because Delhi had free bus tickets for women. If I hadn’t been eligible for the Saheli card, I would have had to reconsider taking up work far from home,” she said.

At Kashmere Gate, Renu Kumari is persuading a bus marshal that the photo on her Aadhaar card is hers. “The OTP isn’t being delivered to my phone number, so they are not issuing me the pink card,” she said. She also produces her voter card, but the marshal asks her to step aside and try another day. This is her fourth day trying to get the card, she says.

‘Suddenly left out’

Transport Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh told The Hindu that the changes in policy were aimed at addressing leakages in the DTC system. “DTC was left as a loss-making body. We are trying to reduce losses while providing quality services to the people of Delhi,” Mr. Singh said.

The Minister said services offered by the government should be limited to the voters of Delhi and not extended to people from other States. Rejecting reports of technical glitches, he said. On the issue of reported glitches, Mr. Singh said, “The cards are being distributed smoothly, there are no queues, and even if technical glitches occur, they are resolved within 30 minutes.”