Tamil Nadu expands Vettri Payanam: free travel on 12,695 government buses
Tamil Nadu has expanded the Vettri Payanam scheme to 12,695 government buses, with about 84.32 lakh women expected to benefit daily.
Representative image: Thamizhpparithi Maari / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. Not an image of the October 2, 2026 launch. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_State_Transport_Corporation_bus.JPG
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay launched the expanded Vettri Payanam free-bus-travel scheme at the Koyambedu bus terminus in Chennai on October 2, 2026.
Under the expansion, eligible women can travel without fare on Express, Limited Stop Service and Deluxe government buses operating in urban and city areas. The benefit also covers Mofussil Ordinary buses and Ordinary Ghat services travelling beyond 40 kilometres.
According to the Tamil Nadu government’s official release, 12,695 buses operated by seven state transport corporations are covered. These buses together make about 168,500 single trips a day, and the state expects approximately 84.32 lakh women to use the service daily.
The government said implementation in Chengalpattu and Tiruppur districts will begin after the election Model Code of Conduct in those districts ends.
Sources: Tamil Nadu Department of Information and Public Relations, press release dated October 2, 2026
Image note: Representative photograph of a Tamil Nadu state transport bus; it is not an image of the October 2 launch. Credit: Thamizhpparithi Maari / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
