Published Sep 21, 2026 | 1:30 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 21, 2026 | 1:30 PM
Under ‘Vetri Payanam’, the free travel facility will cover additional categories of government buses.
Synopsis: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay will launch ‘Vetri Payanam’ on 2 October, expanding the free bus travel scheme for women introduced by the previous DMK government to 12,692 government buses across the State. The scheme will add Express, LSS and Deluxe buses in metropolitan and urban areas, as well as mofussil ordinary buses and hill ordinary buses operating beyond 40 km.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay will launch ‘Vetri Payanam’, expanding the free bus travel scheme for women introduced by the previous DMK government, on 2 October. The scheme will extend the facility to 12,692 government buses across the State.
First announced by the Chief Minister in the Assembly on 24 August, the scheme was reviewed at a meeting on Monday, 21 September. The government said its aim was to ensure that women did not lose access to opportunities because of transportation costs.
At present, women can travel free on ordinary city buses operated by the State’s seven transport corporations and on ordinary hill buses operating for distances of up to 40 km.
Under ‘Vetri Payanam’, the free travel facility will cover additional categories of government buses, including Express, LSS and Deluxe buses operating in metropolitan and urban areas, mofussil ordinary buses and hill ordinary buses operating beyond 40 km.
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The expansion is intended to widen access to public transport for women across Tamil Nadu.
The government has identified female students travelling to colleges far from their homes, working women commuting to workplaces, and women travelling for medical treatment and other essential services among those expected to benefit.
The 12,692 buses covered by the scheme account for around 69 percent of the 18,413 scheduled buses operated by the seven State transport corporations. Of the 1,94,649 scheduled single trips, 1,65,312, or around 85 percent, will operate under the scheme.
The government expects around 84.32 lakh women to use the facility every day.
The integration of the buses covered by the scheme with Electronic Ticketing Machines (ETMs) has been completed, the government said. Testing and verification are scheduled to be completed by 25 September, followed by trial runs on 27 September.
(Edited by Dese Gowda with inputs from Subash Chandra Bose)
