Tamil Nadu CM CJoseph Vijay reviewed preparations for the expanded Vettri Payanam scheme, offering free bus travel for women, ahead of its October 2, 2026 rolloutHere’s a breakdown of the scheme’s rules, covered routes, and the ETM ticketing system.
Published: September 22, 2026, 11:45 PM IST
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Women will be allowed to travel on express buses for free in Tamil NaduRepresentational Image
Tamil Nadu’s Vettri Payanam Scheme, launching October 2, 2026, is expected to benefit close to 84.32 lakh women daily by extending free bus travel to express, deluxe, and ghat route services, on top of the ordinary municipal buses already covered.
Chief Minister CJoseph Vijay has confirmed that Tamil Nadu will expand its free bus travel scheme, Vettri Payanam, across the state from October 2, following a high-level review meetingThe initiative aims to economically empower women and girl students by easing their access to education and employment opportunitiesOfficials say the scheme will also relieve working women and college-age girls of transportation costs and significantly improve their access to healthcare.
Who will benefit?
Government data shows the expanded scheme will benefit close to 8.432 million women every dayOf the total fleet run by state transport corporations, 12,692 buses, about 69 percent, have been set aside for the scheme, running a combined 165,312 single trips dailyThat accounts for nearly 85 percent of all bus operations in the state.
Free travel facility will be available on THESE buses
Until now, the free travel facility was restricted to ordinary city and town busesThat’s changed; women can now travel free on express and deluxe buses within municipal limits, along with long-distance, hilly, and mofussil ordinary services, as well as ghat ordinary buses that run beyond 40 kilometres.
On the ground, preparations are nearly completeEVMs have already been fitted into all 12,692 buses, and officials have been asked to wrap up testing and verification of the system by September 25A trial run across the state will follow on September 27, setting the stage for the scheme’s official launch on October 2.
