Vettri Payanam Scheme: CM Joseph Vijay Launches Expanded Free Bus Travel for Women

Vettri Payanam Scheme was officially launched by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay at Chennai’s Koyambedu bus terminus on October 2, coinciding with Gandhi Jayanti. The expanded initiative aims to provide fare-free travel to women and transgender persons across a wider range of government-operated bus services in Tamil Nadu.

As part of the launch, Chief Minister Joseph Vijay distributed free tickets to women passengers and formally commenced the expanded public transport initiative. The launch at Koyambedu marked a significant extension of the state’s existing free bus travel programme for women.

Vettri Payanam Scheme Launched at Koyambedu

The Vettri Payanam Scheme was launched at the Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus (CMBT), Koyambedu, with the Chief Minister personally issuing free tickets to women passengers travelling on government buses.

According to reports, Vijay issued tickets to passengers travelling on bus service 76B between Koyambedu and Kancheepuram. The symbolic gesture marked the beginning of the expanded scheme across additional categories of government bus services.

The launch was held on Gandhi Jayanti, October 2, and the government has linked the initiative with wider objectives of social welfare, mobility and women's access to education, employment and essential services.

What Is the Vettri Payanam Scheme?

The Vettri Payanam Scheme expands Tamil Nadu’s existing fare-free travel programme, previously known as Vidiyal Payanam. Under the earlier arrangement, women could travel free on designated ordinary town and city buses.

The expanded programme brings additional categories of buses under the free-travel facility. These include Express, Limited Stop Service (LSS) and Deluxe buses operating in urban and city areas. It also covers certain ordinary mofussil services and ordinary Ghat buses operating on hill routes beyond 40 kilometres.

The scheme is intended to make public transport more accessible for women who need to travel longer distances for education, employment, healthcare, family responsibilities and other essential activities.

Around 84 Lakh Women Expected to Benefit Daily

One of the major features of the Vettri Payanam Scheme is its scale. According to the Tamil Nadu government and reports on the launch, around 84.32 lakh women are expected to benefit from the expanded scheme every day.

A total of approximately 12,692 government buses operated by seven state transport undertakings have been brought under the expanded programme. This represents around 69% of the 18,413 scheduled buses operated by the seven transport corporations.