Chennai: Under the state’s ‘Vettri Payanam’ scheme for women, ticket fares for male passengers have come down on select government buses after a tariff revision in districts.
Officials said 340 suburban express and deluxe buses operating in districts have been converted to ordinary-fare services. As a result, men travelling on these buses are seeing a fare reduction of about Rs 10 to Rs 15, depending on the distance.
The women’s free travel initiative was earlier introduced on ordinary-fare buses and has since been expanded under the name ‘Vettri Payanam’. The scheme now covers services including city and town buses, as well as inter-district suburban and hill-region ordinary buses, leading to higher women ridership on these routes.
To help passengers identify eligible services, buses covered under the scheme carry ‘Vettri Payanam’ stickers and digital display boards. Transport officials added that women are permitted to travel free on 12,695 buses across categories, including 2,390 suburban ordinary-fare buses connecting districts and major towns; before the expansion, 2,050 buses were operated under the plan.
