Free Bus Scheme: Good news for women. The Vetri Payanam Scheme, set to roll out across Tamil Nadu starting on October 2, 2026, aims to directly benefit about 84.32 lakh women on a daily basis. This initiative will enable women to travel at no cost on express, deluxe, and ghat route buses, in addition to regular municipal buses.
The Tamil Nadu government has announced the extension of the Vettri Payanam free bus travel program to empower economically women and girl students in the state, facilitating their access to education and jobs. This decision was finalized following a thorough review meeting led by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay. The scheme’s implementation will commence statewide on October 2, providing financial relief to working women and college girls for transportation expenses and improving their healthcare access.
Key points of the scheme include:
– Over 84 lakh women to benefit daily
– Approximately 8.432 million women will enjoy the benefits of this expanded scheme each day.
– Out of the total fleet operated by state transport corporations, 12,692 government buses, accounting for 69 percent, have been allocated for this scheme. These buses will undertake a combined total of 165,312 single trips daily, covering about 85 percent of the state’s bus services.
Under the updated scheme, women will be able to travel free of charge on a variety of buses:
– The free travel facility has been expanded to include express and deluxe buses within municipal boundaries.
– Women can also travel at no cost on long-distance, hilly, and mofussil ordinary buses, covering distances over 40 kilometers.
Regarding the technical aspects of the scheme:
– The integration of EVMs into all 12,692 buses is now complete.
– Officials are instructed to finalize testing and verification of the entire system by September 25.
– A statewide trial run is scheduled for September 27 before the official launch on October 2.