Delhi Transport minister has asked DMRC officials to calculate the revenue repercussions. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

New Delhi: In a good news for the women residing in the city, Arvind Kejriwal led Delhi government is planning to make bus and metro rides free for the fairer sex. The move is being planned just months before the Delhi Assembly elections.

To press for the move, Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gehlot has met senior Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) officials and asked them to submit a proposal in this regard. The transport minister also asked the DMRC officials to inform the state government about the revenue repercussions the move would cause to DMRC.

"The government is planning free travel for women in public transport and is going to bear the loss of revenue that Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, Delhi Transport Corporation and the cluster scheme buses would face due to this decision," a Times of India report quoted a Delhi government official as saying.

According to reports, around 30 lakh people commute by Delhi Metro on a daily basis. An official also said that it would be difficult to exactly calculate the revenue loss unless a fresh survey is carried to out to measure the number of women commuters.

People in the national capital use buses more than the Delhi Metro. Around 42 lakh passengers commute by buses in Delhi.

"More commuters use buses in Delhi compared to the Metro but the percentage of women travellers in buses is not more than 20%," the report quoted a DTC official as saying.

The concept of free transport is gaining momentum in an attempt to make for a green push. According to reports, European nation Luxembourg is planning to scarp fares to motivate people to use public transport thereby reducing pollution. The reports further suggest that some cities in Europe are already providing free commuting including Dunkirk in France and Tallinn in Estonia.