Private bus operator challenges Tamil Nadu’s free-travel scheme in court

A private bus operator has moved the Madras High Court challenging the constitutional validity of Tamil Nadu’s Vettri Payanam scheme, which provides no-fare travel for women and transwomen on 12,695 government buses across the State. The petition has been filed by N. Kalamani, who operates buses in Erode district.

It is listed for hearing on October 5 before the First Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan. Kalamani says private operators could suffer substantial losses because women passengers would have an incentive to use government buses.

The petition also argues that families could choose government services so that women travelling with them would not have to pay, potentially affecting passenger numbers for private operators as well. The petitioner operates on routes from Erode to Vellithiruppur and from Kakapalayam to Andhiyur. She said she employed about 15 people and feared that private buses on those routes would lose passengers because government buses were also operating there.

The petition states that the government plans to spend ₹6,000 crore a year compensating State transport corporations for the scheme, which is intended to benefit 84.32 lakh women daily. Kalamani said a request by the Federation of Bus Operators Associations of Tamil Nadu to extend the benefit to private operators had not produced a result. She argues that limiting free travel to government buses denies private transporters a level playing field and violates Article 14 of the Constitution.

The petition also relies on the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and Tamil Nadu Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989, which she says require fares to be collected. Kalamani further contends that the scheme was announced under Rule 110 in the Legislative Assembly without a Government Order. She has asked the court to declare the announcement unconstitutional and grant an interim stay.