CM Vijay launches Vettri Payanam on 2 Oct 2026: free travel for women, girls and transgender persons extends to Express, LSS, Deluxe, mofussil and ghat buses — 12,692 buses, ~84.32 lakh women daily.
Free bus travel for women in Tamil Nadu expands on a massive scale from Friday, October 2, 2026, when Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay launches the Vettri Payanam (“Victory Journey”) scheme on Gandhi Jayanti. Announcing it on Thursday in a social media message and video, the Chief Minister said free travel would be available to “our grandmothers, mothers, elder sisters, younger sisters, girl children and transgender persons” — bringing 12,692 government buses under the scheme and benefiting about 84.32 lakh women every day.
Until now, women could travel free only on city ordinary buses run by the seven state transport corporations, and on ordinary hill-route buses for up to 40 km. Vettri Payanam extends free travel to many more categories of government buses (Daily Thanthi, citing the government release):
| Bus type | Before | From 2 October |
|---|---|---|
| City ordinary buses | Free | Free |
| Express, LSS and Deluxe buses in cities and towns | Paid | Free |
| Mofussil (suburban) ordinary buses | Paid | Free |
| Hill-route (ghat) ordinary buses | Free up to 40 km | Free beyond 40 km too |
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Buses under the scheme | 12,692 of the 18,413 scheduled buses of the seven transport corporations (69%) |
| Daily trips covered | 1,65,312 of 1,94,649 single trips (85%) |
| Women benefiting | About 84.32 lakh every day |
| Who is eligible | Women, girl children and transgender persons |
The government said the integration of Vettri Payanam buses with the electronic ticketing machines (ETMs) has been completed. Testing and verification were carried out on September 25, and a trial run on September 27. With the expansion, women students will be able to travel free to colleges further from home, and women can travel to work, to hospitals and for essential services without paying a fare.
Because the Model Code of Conduct is in force for the Madurantakam and Dharapuram by-elections, the scheme will start in Chengalpattu and Tiruppur districts only after the code is lifted — the election process ends on October 11.
The Chief Minister first announced Vettri Payanam under Rule 110 in the Assembly on August 24, 2026, saying the government’s guiding principle of social justice meant that no woman anywhere in Tamil Nadu should lose opportunities because of the cost of travel. He chose October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, as the launch date.
Sources: Daily Thanthi (government release), Maalaimalar, CMO Tamil Nadu on X.
Vettri Payanam Welfare Day 144