Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay announced on Friday, 2 October 2026, an expansion of Tamil Nadu’s free bus travel scheme for women, now called Vettri Payanam Thittam, the Indian Express reported. The Hindu published an analysis of its costs on 11 October.
Quick Facts
| Scheme | Vettri Payanam Thittam (VPT) |
| Announced | 2 October 2026, Gandhi Jayanti |
| Expected beneficiaries | About 84 lakh women |
| What changed | Covers women across income groups; no limit on daily trips; deluxe and express buses included |
| Cost, as estimated by The Hindu | ₹6,000 crore in total, of which ₹1,600 crore is additional each year |
What the Scheme Does
The government’s scheme builds on the earlier zero-fare scheme for women, Vidiyal Payanam, which the previous DMK government started and which covers a narrower range of buses. Under the expansion, women of all income groups can travel free, there is no limit on daily trips, and the benefit extends to deluxe and express services.
The Cost Question
The Hindu’s analysis put the numbers in context:
- Tamil Nadu’s GSDP is estimated at ₹40.67 lakh crore for 2026-27, and outstanding liabilities are projected at about 27 per cent of it
- Debt servicing is about ₹1.28 lakh crore, or 37 per cent of estimated revenue receipts
- The 2025-26 budget allocated ₹3,600 crore as subsidy for Vidiyal Payanam
- On its own, VPT is about 1.7 per cent of revenue receipts and 0.15 per cent of GSDP
- The state’s budgeted revenue deficit is ₹55,775 crore, and there is no longer a specific Finance Commission cushion for states whose revenue spending exceeds revenue receipts
The Concerns
The analysis said the scheme is not targeted, so part of the subsidy goes to those who may not need it, and that reimbursement needs will rise with ridership. It recommended a clear formula linking payments to actual passenger journeys and route costs, and warned that if reimbursement falls short, the state’s transport undertakings, which already make daily losses, would be weakened further.
It also asked whether the government can turn about 84 lakh journeys into measurable gains for women in employment, household income and mobility.
Featured image: A Chennai Metropolitan Transport Corporation bus, July 2022 (file photo). Photo by Srikanth Ramakrishnan/BESTpedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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