CM Vijay launches expanded free bus travel for women on Gandhi Jayanti
The expanded Vetri Payanam scheme brings free travel to 12,692 state buses, including Express, LSS and Deluxe services, from 2 October. An estimated 8.4 million women and transgenders stand to benefit daily, with no income cap or journey limit.
Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay will formally launch the expanded Vetri Payanam scheme on 2 October, Gandhi Jayanti, at Chennai's Koyambedu bus terminus, extending free bus travel for women and transgender persons far beyond the ordinary city buses covered so far.
From Friday, free travel will be available on 12,692 state-run buses, taking in Express, Limited Stop Service (LSS) and Deluxe services in municipal and town areas as well as Mofussil Ordinary and Ghat Ordinary buses on hill routes. The state estimates that about 8.4 million women could benefit every day, with over 1.6 million one-way journeys facilitated daily. There is no income limit and no cap on the number of journeys.
The free travel programme was first introduced under the previous DMK administration; the present government has rebranded it as Vetri Payanam — the "victorious journey" — and widened the categories of services eligible. Choosing Gandhi Jayanti for the launch lends the expansion a symbolic civic dimension.
Officials say the move upholds principles of social justice by removing financial barriers to mobility for work, education and healthcare. Questions remain on journey limits for long-distance services and inter-city eligibility, which are expected to be clarified at the launch.
Sources
Share this story
Related articles
A ₹4,730-crore riverbed and a question of who blinked: sand-mining plea returns to Madras High Court
A Chennai contractor has moved the Madras High Court to stop the DVAC from acting on the ED's 2024 sand-mining dossier, even as the agency valued illegal extraction at ₹4,730 crore and said its warnings to the police went unanswered for two years.
· 2 min read
The river gave less, the price took more: Tamil Nadu records its lowest Cauvery realisation in 14 years
Tamil Nadu has recorded its lowest Cauvery realisation in 14 years, paddy coverage in the delta is down by nearly a lakh acres, and fine rice prices have jumped about 20% in a month as farmers wait on a samba season that has barely begun.
· 2 min read
Fumes in a residential lane: Salem dyeing unit's acid leak leaves more than 50 gasping
Hydrochloric acid fumes from a Salem dyeing unit spread through a residential street on Tuesday night, leaving over 50 workers and residents struggling to breathe. Police are now checking the unit's pollution clearances.
· 2 min read
Eighty-four lakh free rides a day, one question unanswered: what does the free bus earn women?
The TVK government has expanded free bus travel to 84 lakh women a day at about Rs 6,000 crore a year. The rides are real. What is missing is any measure of jobs, income or savings they create.
· 2 min read