Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Friday launched the expanded "Vetri Payanam" scheme at Koyambedu in Chennai, extending free bus travel to women, girl students, and transgender passengers across a broader range of government buses.

Transport Minister A. Vijay Thamizhan Parthiban attended the launch, where the Chief Minister interacted with commuters and issued zero-fare tickets to women passengers.

CUTE VIDEO 😅

CM Vijay is personally handing out tickets to women on bus ♥️ pic.twitter.com/4xbwx8ZKlZ

— Ayyappan (@Ayyappan_1504) October 2, 2026

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Key Highlights Of Vetri Payanam Scheme

• The state government has placed no income ceiling and no restriction on the number of trips for eligible passengers.
• Approximately 84.32 lakh passengers are expected to benefit daily.
• The scheme includes 12,692 buses, accounting for nearly 69 per cent of the scheduled fleet operated by Tamil Nadu's seven State Transport Corporations, operating roughly 1,65,312 single trips every day.

Which Government Buses Are Covered Under The Scheme?

The expansion extends the existing free travel facility beyond town and ordinary city buses to include longer-distance and higher-category services:

• Express, Limited Stop Service (LSS), Deluxe, and Metropolitan Ordinary buses
• Mofussil Ordinary buses and Hill Ordinary services operating beyond 40 km.

To help passengers identify eligible vehicles, buses under the scheme are required to display "Vetri Payanam" on their digital route boards or carry an official sticker.

ZERO Ticket Regulations

Passengers covered by the scheme will not have to pay regular fares. However, conductors must issue a ZERO Ticket for every journey.

For services other than Town Ordinary buses, conductors have been instructed to enter passengers' origin and destination details directly into Electronic Ticketing Machines (ETMs). If an ETM fails, conductors have been instructed to issue manual ZERO Tickets and record the journey details in the ticket register.

What Happens If A Bus Crosses Into Another State?

For bus routes passing through a neighbouring state or Union Territory, travel remains free as long as both boarding and alighting points are within Tamil Nadu. However, if a passenger boards or disembarks in a neighbouring state or Union Territory, regular fares apply.

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THESE Districts Excluded For Now

Implementation is temporarily on hold in Chengalpattu and Tiruppur districts as the Model Code of Conduct is in place for by-elections. The expanded scheme will be implemented in these districts once the election process concludes.