Chennai, 01 Oct (H.S.): Women and transgender passengers in Tamil Nadu will gain access to more government bus services when Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay launches the expanded Vetri Travel Scheme on October 2, Gandhi Jayanti.

The inauguration is expected at Chennai’s Koyambedu bus terminus on Friday. The expansion brings Express, LSS and Deluxe buses within the programme, extending the benefit currently available on ordinary government city buses.

A total of 12,692 government buses are expected to be covered, widening transport options for beneficiaries travelling for work, education and other daily needs.

The programme was introduced by the previous DMK government. The current administration has renamed it the Vetri Travel Scheme and broadened the categories of services eligible for free travel.

Figures cited for the expansion indicate that it could benefit 84 lakh women daily and facilitate more than 16 lakh one-way journeys. These estimates were not explained.

Meanwhile, questions remain about journey limits and whether passengers can travel between distant cities without paying fares by changing buses along the way.

The routes mentioned include Tiruchi–Dindigul, Thanjavur–Nagapattinam, Thanjavur–Velankanni, Tindivanam–Villupuram, Coimbatore–Palani, Coimbatore–Erode, Erode–Salem and Madurai–Virudhunagar.

Express buses generally operate over distances of 30 to 100 kilometres, while LSS services cover about 30 to 40 kilometres and Deluxe buses around 30 to 50 kilometres, according to the information cited.

However, a bus’s operating distance does not necessarily establish the distance for which a passenger qualifies for free travel.

A chain of connecting services between Chennai and Kanyakumari has also been listed, but this does not confirm that the entire journey would be free.

Clear guidance on eligible routes, distance restrictions and ticketing arrangements will be needed before passengers plan longer trips. Beneficiaries travelling beyond their local areas will need to check which individual services and portions of their journeys qualify under the expanded scheme.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman