Tamil Nadu Expands Free Bus Travel for Women Across All Government Buses from October 2
Tamil Nadu expands the Vettri Payanam scheme from October 2, allowing women to travel free on government buses including Express, LSS, Deluxe and eligible inter-district services.
Prasanth Subramani
Tamil Nadu Expands Free Bus Travel for Women Across All Government Buses from October 2
The Tamil Nadu government has announced the statewide expansion of the Vettri Payanam scheme from October 2, Gandhi Jayanti, providing women with free travel on a wider range of government buses across the state.
Under the expanded scheme, women will be able to travel free of charge on government buses, including Express, LSS and Deluxe services. Free travel will also be available on eligible ordinary-fare inter-district government buses.
The scheme will have no income ceiling, meaning women will not be required to meet an income-based eligibility condition to access the free travel benefit.
There will also be no limit on the number of journeys, allowing eligible women to make unlimited free trips on the covered government bus services.
The expanded initiative is expected to provide greater mobility for women while reducing their daily transportation expenses and improving access to employment, education, healthcare and other essential services.
The government is expected to incur an additional annual expenditure of around ₹6,000 crore for the expanded free bus travel scheme.
The statewide expansion of Vettri Payanam from October 2 marks a major step towards making public transportation more accessible and affordable for women across Tamil Nadu.
