New Delhi [India], February 18 (ANI): A total of 100 crore Pink bus tickets for women have been issued till the end of January 2023 in the national capital, an official statement said on Friday.

"In 2022, free travel for women via Pink tickets contributed to nearly 32 per cent of the total number of passengers travelling in a month," the statement said.

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The ridership of the Delhi buses (DTC and DIMTS combined) is slowly inching back towards the pre-COVID numbers.

"In 2019-20, Delhi buses had a ridership of more than 160 crores. Due to COVID in the years 2020 and 2021, it dropped to 71 crores in 2020-21, slightly recovering to 93 crores in 2021-22. Since April 2022 till today, it has reached nearly 125 crores, almost 75 per cent of the pre covid numbers," the statement said.

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"Across these years, since the beginning of free travel for women in Oct 2019, the pink ticket ridership has grown from 25 per cent in 2020-21 and 28 per cent in 2021-22 to nearly 33 per cent in 2022-23 till date," it added.

Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said in a statement that Delhi has shown how free travel can empower the women in the city under Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

"The rising number of women bus travellers over the years shows the impact it has created and how much they have benefited from this scheme. Delhi government has spent 1000 crores on the Pink passes issued over these years," he said.

Terming the participation of women in the workforce as a "critical driver of social advancement", the Minister said that all Delhi government-operated buses offered free transit to women to promote women's mobility.

"In the past, female labour force participation has remained below average due to a lack of opportunities to assist women's mobility in the city," he said. (ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)