Arvind Kejriwal today told a news conference that women would be able to commute for free on DTC and cluster buses as as on the Delhi Metro.

This move along with CCTV camera coverage for women's security, announced barely a year before Assembly elections, would cost the Delhi government Rs 700-800 crore. Kejriwal said.

.He requested women who can afford the service not to take free rides.

REsponding to a question, Kejriwal clarified that the his government would not need permission from the Centre to make the rides free for women who could not afford it. The Centre and the Delhi government have a history of acrimony regarding division of powers.

The Delhi chief minister gave an 'aam aadmi' spin to his proposal. “When an aam aadmi’s wife, daughter or sister steps out of home in the morning for a job or school and college, it keeps them constantly worried about her safe return,” the Aam Aadmi Party chief said. “Public transport is considered the safest for women,” he said. “Keeping that in mind, the government has decided to make public travel free for women in all DTC and cluster buses and in the Delhi Metro.”

The rising Delhi Metro fare has let to a drop in the number of riders. In March 2017, daily ridership in the Metro was around 28 lakh. After the completion of Phase III development of metro lines, Delhi Metro had expected ridership to rise to 40 lakh. It didn’t happen. On the contrary, a round of fare hike in October 2017 by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) made daily ridership dip to less than 24 lakh. In the first two months of 2019, the daily average ridership was a little over 23 lakh. Kejriwal told the news conference today that around 25 lakh people travelled by the Metro now.

Of the total number of riders, 30 per cent are estimated to be women. Going by these estimates, between 7 lakh to 8 lakh women would benefit from this pre-poll promise that, Kejriwal said, would take two to three months to roll out.

A study by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) after the 2017 fare hike said that the Delhi Metro had become the second-most unaffordable service in the world.

“Of nine metropolitan cities across the developing world, the Delhi Metro remains the second-most unaffordable system in terms of percentage of income spent for using it,” the study said.

The Dialogue & Development Commission, a think tank that advises the Delhi government, hailed Kejriwal's decision. “Public transport provides women access to opportunities, more jobs and better education opportunities,” Jasmine Shah, the vice-chairperson of the Dialogue and Development Commission (DDC), said. “There are several examples of women who are not able to be an active member (in the workforce) because of the cost it entails, especially after the Metro fare hike,” Shah said.