Tamil Nadu has shifted 340 fast and luxury suburban government buses to ordinary fares under the expanded Vetri Payanam scheme, reducing ticket costs for male passengers by Rs 10 to Rs 15 depending on distance, according to state transport officials quoted by Dinamalar. The buses operate across districts and between major towns, while women continue to be eligible for free travel under the scheme.
The fare change follows the expansion of the women’s free travel programme, which began on ordinary-fare buses during the previous DMK government and was later expanded under the name Vetri Payanam. The programme covers ordinary and luxury city buses in metropolitan and urban areas, as well as ordinary suburban and hill-area buses operating between districts.
Transport officials said women are currently allowed to travel free on 12,695 buses, including metropolitan fast and luxury services, ordinary suburban buses and ordinary hill buses operating on routes longer than 40 kilometres. The network also includes 2,390 ordinary-fare suburban buses connecting districts and major towns.
Before the latest expansion, 2,050 suburban ordinary-fare buses were included in the relevant service category. An additional 340 fast and luxury suburban buses have now been converted to ordinary-fare services, bringing their fares down for passengers who are not covered by the free-travel benefit.
The reduction applies according to the distance travelled. For male passengers, the revised fare is between Rs 10 and Rs 15 lower on the affected buses, officials said. The change therefore alters the cost structure of services that previously operated as fast or luxury buses, while retaining them within the wider public transport network used for inter-town and district travel.
The state has also introduced visual markers to help passengers identify buses covered by the Vetri Payanam programme. These include stickers carrying the scheme’s name and digital display boards on the buses. The markers are intended to distinguish eligible services as the programme operates across different categories of government buses.
The expansion has increased the number of women using the designated services, including luxury city buses in Chennai and ordinary-fare suburban buses in the districts, according to the report. For the transport system, the change links a gender-focused travel subsidy with a broader fare classification decision affecting all passengers on the 340 converted services.
Transport officials did not provide, in the report, a route-wise list of the 340 buses, the revised fare table for individual distances or the financial impact of the conversion on state transport undertakings. The immediate operational details available are that the buses have been moved to ordinary fares and that male passenger fares have fallen by up to Rs 15.
