Tamil Nadu launches expanded free bus travel scheme for women
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Friday launched the expanded 'Vettri Payanam' scheme, providing free bus travel for women, on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.
The state government said more than 84 lakh women are expected to benefit from the expanded scheme every day. The facility will now cover buses in categories including deluxe and express services.
There is no income ceiling for women seeking to avail the scheme, and beneficiaries can make any number of trips in a day, the government said.
The scheme, whose name means "victorious journey", is named after the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam.
It covers 12,695 buses operated by seven state transport corporations and is expected to benefit around 84.32 lakh women daily.
During the launch event, Vijay interacted with passengers and distributed free bus tickets to mark the commencement of the expanded scheme.
Transport Minister A Vijay Tamilan Parthiban said the initiative aims to provide free travel to women and transgender persons to support their education, employment, livelihoods and economic empowerment.
He said the scheme seeks to promote equality by ensuring that travel costs do not become a barrier to access to education, employment and healthcare.
Parthiban described the initiative as a "social revolution" aimed at encouraging women to travel independently, participate in economic activities and contribute to the state's development.
The free travel facility was earlier restricted to certain categories of buses. It has now been expanded to include express, deluxe, mofussil ordinary and certain Ghat area services. (with inputs from PTI)
