Minibuses to serve more than 25,000 km of unserved areas in Tamil Nadu

Chief Minister M.K. Stalin flagging off a mini bus under the New Comprehensive Mini Bus Scheme in Thanjavur on Monday | Photo Credit: R.Vengadesh

Chief Minister M.K.Stalin on Monday launched the New Comprehensive Mini-bus Scheme which extends mini bus services to 25,708 kilometres of unserved areas in the State.

Mr.Stalin flagged off mini buses on various routes under the scheme at an event held at the Rajah Serfoji Government College grounds in Thanjavur in the presence of Transport Minister S.S.Sivasankar and other Ministers.

An official release said under the new scheme, mini buses are allowed to ply for a maximum permitted route length of 25 km. Of this, at least 65% of the distance should be un-served areas. Earlier, minibuses are allowed to ply for a maximum of 20 km, of which 16 km should be in un-served areas.

The mini-bus scheme was introduced in the State in 1997 for the benefit of people residing in the areas uncovered by the Public Transport Corporations/Private Mofussil bus operators. A total of 250 permits per district was issued.

The scheme has been modified now to serve more unserved areas. Further,the mini buses were allowed to commence/terminate their journey from bus stands. Existing mini bus operators are allowed to migrate to the new mini-bus scheme.

Under the scheme, mini buses would be operated on 3,103 routes, including 2,094 new routes and 1,009 migrations, across the State.

Published - June 17, 2025 12:41 am IST