Like most women in her locality of south Delhi’s Neb Sarai who work as domestic helps, Kusum Lata walks almost an hour to reach her employer’s home in Malviya Nagar.
“It is difficult to spend ₹40-50 daily on e-rickshaws from Neb Sarai to Malviya Nagar or Saket,” Ms. Lata, 36, said. To ensure safety, most women walk in groups to reach their employers’ homes, she added.
These women are also united in demanding that the Delhi government fulfil its 2023-24 budget promise of launching Mohalla buses to provide last-mile connectivity.
Near the peripheries of the city, buses run by the Delhi government are scarce. The demand for Mohalla buses — proposed to be 9 metres long instead of the regular 12-metre ones — has been growing as the over 4,600 bus stops across Delhi do not cover many remote areas, isolating them from the public transit system.
An urban village, Neb Sarai is home to many informal sector workers. Without adequate means of public transport, most residents either walk long distances or cycle on broad roads, which lack cycling lanes and are filled with speeding four-wheelers.
“The Transport Minister had promised that 100 Mohalla buses will be deployed. Where are they?” said Dayawati, 42, a resident of Maidan Garhi near Neb Sarai.
Ms. Dayawati, who travels almost 5 km to work at a house in Saket, told The Hindu that Mohalla buses, supplemented by the free pink tickets available for female passengers, would go a long way in helping her.
Tara, who works as a cook in Malviya Nagar, said, “These buses will not only cut the travel cost but also ensure our safety as many women could board them together.”
Asked about a concrete timeline for the launch of Mohalla buses, the Delhi government did not issue a response. However, a senior Transport Department official, requesting anonymity, said agreements have been signed by all the parties involved in the deployment of these vehicles.
