- Tamil Nadu expands free bus travel for women on all state-run ordinary, express, deluxe buses
- Scheme now includes mofussil and hill area buses with no income or trip limits
- Transgender persons and girl students can also avail free travel across the state
The Tamil Nadu government has expanded the free bus travel scheme for women in the state. Chief Minister Vijay made the announcement in the Assembly, saying women will be able to travel without paying fares on state-run ordinary, express and deluxe buses.
The new move will also cover mofussil buses that travel between districts, along with buses operating in hill areas. Until now, women could travel for free in ordinary buses in cities and municipal areas, while women in hill regions were able to travel up to 40 km.
Vijay also said there's no income limit or restriction on the number of trips women can take under the scheme. This means women will be able to use the free travel benefit without worrying about how much they earn or how often they travel.
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He said, “There is no income ceiling or other restriction to avail of the scheme. This will enable girl students to travel to colleges in faraway places and women to travel across the State. Transgender persons can also make use of the scheme.”
The expanded free bus travel scheme for women is expected to cost the Tamil Nadu government around Rs 6000 crore every year.
Along with free bus travel, Vijay also announced another major benefit for families. Under the proposed Annapoorani Super Six scheme, eligible families will get financial support equal to the cost of three LPG cylinders every year.
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The money will not be given in advance. Families will first have to book and receive their gas cylinders. After that, the cylinder cost will be transferred directly to their bank accounts. The scheme is expected to help around 1.30 Crore families in the state.
The plan is expected to put an annual burden of around Rs 4000 crore on the state government. Preparations for the scheme have already started, and the government plans to bring it into effect from January during the Pongal festival.
