Vijay govt expands free bus scheme for Tamil Nadu women ahead of Oct 2 launch

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Monday reviewed preparations for 'Vetri Payanam', the state's expanded free bus travel scheme for women, ahead of its statewide launch on October 2.

An official release said the flagship scheme is expected to benefit about 84.32 lakh women every day.

Under the scheme, women will be able to travel free on 12,692 designated government buses. The expanded coverage goes beyond the existing concessions on ordinary city and town buses and will now include Express, Limited Stop Service and Deluxe buses within corporation and municipal limits, as well as Mofussil Ordinary and Ghat Ordinary buses operating beyond 40 kilometres.

According to the release, the designated buses make up 69 per cent of the total fleet operated by the seven State Transport Corporations. These buses will run 1,65,312 single trips every day, accounting for 85 per cent of the state's total bus operations.

On the operational side, integration of Electronic Ticketing Machines across the designated buses has been completed. Officials have been asked to finish system testing and verification by September 25, followed by a trial run on September 27.

The scheme was announced in the Assembly on August 24. It is aimed at ensuring that women and girl students do not miss employment or educational opportunities because of transport costs, and gives them easier access to workplaces, colleges and essential medical facilities.

State Transport Minister A Vijay Thamizhan Parthiban, Chief Secretary M Saikumar, Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) M Asithick, Transport Secretary Ila Nithirmalraj and other senior bureaucrats attended the review meeting at the Secretariat.

The review focused on readiness for the October 2 launch of the expanded scheme across the state.- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Sep 21, 2026 15:22 IST