Chennai: In order to expand the free bus travel scheme for women in Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister Vijay will launch the TVK government’s “Victory Journey” scheme on Oct. 2. In this context, a review meeting on the preparations for the “Victory Journey” scheme was held today under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Vijay.
In a press release issued by the government in this regard, “Chief Minister Vijay, on 24.8.2026 in the Legislative Assembly under Rule No. 110, stated that this government places primary importance on the social justice principle that women living in any part of Tamil Nadu should not lose opportunities because of transportation fares.
Taking this into consideration, he also announced that the women’s free travel scheme would be expanded and implemented from October 2, the birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, under the name “Victory Journey,” so that it would benefit a large number of people.
At present, women are traveling free of charge on ordinary city buses and ordinary hill-area buses up to 40 km operated by the 7 government transport corporations.
Through the “Victory Journey” scheme, this service has been extended to Express, LSS, Deluxe government buses operating in metropolitan and urban areas, suburban ordinary buses (Mofussil Ordinary), and hill-route ordinary buses (Ghat Ordinary) covering distances of more than 40 km, bringing a total of 12,692 buses under this scheme.
As a result, out of the total 18,413 scheduled buses operated by 7 state transport corporations, 12,692 buses (69 percent) will be operated, and out of the total 1,94,649 trips (Singles), 1,65,312 trips (85 percent) will be operated. Approximately 84.32 lakh women will benefit from this scheme every day.
Furthermore, the integration work with the electronic ticketing machines (ETM) of the “Vettri Payanam” buses has been completed. Testing and verification work will be carried out by 25.09.2026, and a trial run will be conducted on 27.09.2026.
The Chief Minister will launch the “Vettri Payanam” scheme on 2.10.2026. Through this scheme, women across the state will gain widespread access to affordable public transportation.
It also states that female students will be able to travel to colleges located far away, women will be able to commute to their workplaces, and they will be able to travel by bus free of charge for medical and essential services.”
Also, in this meeting, Transport Minister A. Vijay Tamilan Parthiban, Chief Secretary Dr. M. Saikumar, Additional Chief Secretary of the Finance Department M. A. Siddique, and others participated.
