CM Vijay chairs review meeting of transport department.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay presided over a review meeting on the functioning of the Transport Department at the Secretariat on Wednesday, including its long-term plans, introduction of free bus travel for women across the state, large-scale rollout of electric buses and welfare of transport workers.

According to an official statement, the eight state transport companies operate a total of 21,527 buses across the state, serving about 2.05 million passengers every day, of which 64% avail the free travel option.

The one-year, three-year and five-year action plans of the Ministry of Transport aimed at strengthening and modernizing transport companies were discussed in detail during the meeting, the report said.

The chief minister tasked officials with procuring air-conditioned electric buses for transport corporations, implementing a smart card-based cashless ticketing system and introducing the Bus Rapid Transit System, which will provide dedicated bus lanes.

Transport Minister A. Vijay Tamilan Parthiban, Chief Secretary M. Sai Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) MA Siddique and Transport Minister M. Vallalar were present.

Mr. Vijay also called on the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari at his residence in Chennai, an official release said.

This was the first time that Mr. Vijay had called on Justice Dharmadhikari for a courtesy visit after assuming office as Chief Minister.

Published – 18 Jun 2026 0:13 IST