Tamil Nadu revises mini-bus fares for first time since 2000; check out new rates here

CHENNAI:For the first time since 2000, the state government has revised the mini-bus fares with the minimum fare increased to Rs 4 from the existing Rs 2 for the first two km and the maximum fare to Rs 10 from Rs 4.75 for 20 km. However, the existing minibus operators are unhappy over the fare hike as it was not sufficient to meet their expenses.

The state government launched the mini-bus scheme in 1997 and the existing fare was fixed in 2000. Several operators have been charging a minimum of Rs 10 from the passengers as against the government-fixed fare, said an operator on condition of anonymity.

The new scheme notification said that the revised fare would be applicable for both the existing permit holders and prospective permit holders and the new scheme would come into effect on May 1.

The Home (Transport) Department released a draft notification of a new comprehensive mini-bus scheme 2024 in June last year proposing to improve the accessibility of bus service in urban and rural areas and to ensure last-mile connectivity.

Under this scheme, the district collector, who is the Regional Transport Authority, should identify and survey potential routes. The route should be a maximum of 25 km and the unserved route should not be less than 65 per cent of the total route length.

If the terminal point of the mini-bus route falls within one km of important locations like government hospitals, higher secondary schools, colleges, railway stations, collectorates and taluk offices, places of worship, or a place just before the bus stand and in case of the served route exceeding the permitted route length, the RTO can permit the additional distance of up to 1 km in the served route to enable passengers to reach those places.

The new scheme also considers the existing bus operating route as unserved if the existing operators are insufficient to cater to the needs of the public and the number of trips is less than four singles per day.

Around 18,000 mini-buses are expected to ply under this scheme. The starting or terminal point of the bus should be any location in the unserved locality and one of the points could be a bus stop or bus stand.

Extension of scheme benefits to existing operators

The state government has accepted the appeal of the existing operators in the public hearing held last year seeking to extend the scheme benefits to them. The existing operator would be allowed to migrate to the new scheme after submitting a written request and they should have operated on a minimum of 1.5 km of additional unserved route.

However, the number of mini-busses under operation had declined to 2,857 as of April 1, 2024, from 4,092 permitted buses. The decline in the operation of the mini-buses was mainly due to restricting operations to only four km of the existing bus routes.

The revised mini-bus ticket fare structure will be as follows:

Up to 2 km: Rs 4

Above 2 km and up to 4 km: Rs 4

Above 4 km and up to 6 km: Rs 5

Above 6 km and up to 8 km: Rs 6

Above 8 km and up to 10 km: Rs 7

Above 10 km and up to 12 km: Rs 8

Above 12 km and up to 14 km: Rs 9

Above 14 km and up to 16 km: Rs 9

Above 16 km and up to 18 km: Rs 9

Above 18 km and up to 20 km: Rs 10

This fare adjustment is expected to provide a more efficient transportation service to the public, ensuring fair pricing while also maintaining the operational standards of mini-buses across the state.

The new fare structure will be applicable to both current and future mini-bus operators and is set to be implemented starting May 1, 2025.