Chennai, Oct 8: The expanded ‘Vettri Payanam’ — free bus travel for women — benefited approximately 5.9 crore passengers in availing individual journeys since its roll-out on October 2, with about 88 lakh women benefiting from the scheme on a single day on October 7, an official said on Thursday.
Male commuters too have benefited from the fare cuts effected on certain routes, he said.
For instance, the fare on the Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur route, which was Rs 50, was significantly reduced to Rs 38. Similarly, the fares on the express buses on certain routes dropped, a source said.
In Tiruvannamalai district, the ticket fare for men was brought down to Rs 7 from Rs 10 and the fare has been revised to benefit male passengers on 65 buses in Kanyakumari district.
As many as 128 buses operating for various services in Vellore, Tirupattur and Ranipet have been converted into ordinary buses.
The expansion of the Vettri Payanam scheme has resulted in a unique fare reduction for men, with ticket price cuts up to Rs 12 on specific bus routes across the state. Though the drop in fares is not a direct reduction of base government ticket pricing, it is rather a structural shift in how buses are operated on certain routes, it was reasoned.
Following the launch of the scheme, the transport authorities have redesignated or adjusted several higher-fare routes – such as Express, LSS, and Deluxe services – back to ordinary or simplified schedules to better accommodate the influx of passengers and align with the expanded subsidy tracking.
As a result, the general ticket prices for male passengers on identical routes have automatically dropped by Rs 3 to Rs 12 depending on the distance covered.
As per preliminary estimates, approximately 5.9 crore individual journeys have been taken by women passengers under the expanded scheme since its official launch by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay coinciding with Gandhi Jayanti, by issuing zero-fare tickets to women passengers at Koyambedu Bus Terminus here.
The government records an average of 84.32 lakh zero-fare tickets issued daily across the expanded network of 12,692 buses.
During the first week of operation from October 2, the daily volume aggregated to over 5.9 crore total trips across metropolitan, urban, mofussil and ghat routes.
The scheme, originally announced by the chief minister under Rule 110 in the Assembly on August 24, aims to ensure that women across Tamil Nadu are not deprived of social and economic opportunities due to transport costs.
Under the expanded initiative, the free travel facility — previously restricted to ordinary city and town buses and up to 40 km in hilly regions — has now been extended to cover Express, Limited Stop Services (LSS), Deluxe, Suburban Ordinary (Mofussil Ordinary), and Ghat Ordinary services running over 40 km operated by the state’s seven State Transport Corporations (STCs).
The government stated that the initiative will significantly improve access to public transport, enabling female students to commute to distant colleges, assisting working women and transgender persons in reaching their workplaces, and facilitating free travel for medical and essential needs.
There would be no income ceiling for the beneficiaries to avail services, and there will also be no limit on the number of daily trips.
The welfare scheme’s name is derived from the ruling party – Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam – to mean “victorious journey” (Vettri payanam) for women.
Transport Minister A Vijay Tamilan Parthiban said the initiative aimed to provide free bus travel for women and transgenders to support their education, employment, livelihoods, and economic empowerment, ensuring that travel costs do not become a barrier to their progress. (PTI)
