Women bus passengers rise to 70% after Vidiyal Payanam scheme: Minister Sivasankar

Women bus passengers in Tamil Nadu surged to 70% following the successful Vidiyal Payanam free travel scheme, says Minister Sivasankar.

Minister for Transport S.S. Sivasankar has said that the number of women passengers using the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) buses has increased from 40% to 70% after the introduction of the Vidiyal Payanam free bus travel scheme in the State.

The Minister, along with Tourism Minister R. Rajendran, distributed retirement benefits to employees of the TNSTC at the Salem Corporation’s Regional Head Office on Wednesday (March 11, 2026). The Ministers also virtually flagged off five new low-floor premium air-conditioned electric buses introduced by the Chennai Metropolitan Transport Corporation.

Addressing the gathering, Mr. Sivasankar said that due to the effective governance of Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, TNSTC has developed a strong structure and is functioning as an efficient organisation with bus facilities reaching villages across the State, a large fleet of buses, and about 1.02 lakh employees. Transport workers are being provided with pensions, regular salaries and dearness allowance revisions, he added.

He said Mr. Stalin had allocated ₹13,760 crore for the Vidiyal Payanam Scheme, following which the number of women passengers using TNSTC buses has increased significantly. He pointed out that the Mr. Stalin has also given special attention to purchasing new buses to ease travel. Orders have been issued to procure 13,000 new buses, of which 8,200 buses have already been purchased.

Retirement benefits were distributed to 354 retired employees from the Salem region and 200 from the Villupuram region, he said.

Mr. Sivasankar further said that appointment orders have been issued to 1,500 heirs of transport workers who died while in service across the State, and many of these appointments have been given to women.