Transport Minister SS Sivasankar announced that within the next three to four months, approximately 4,000 new buses and 1,400 refurbished buses will be introduced throughout the state of Tamil Nadu. This initiative is part of a plan to enhance the efficiency of the transport department.
Minister Sivasankar mentioned that tender invitations have been issued to procure the new fleets. During his visit to the city, the minister also distributed job orders to the children of transport workers who tragically lost their lives while on duty.
The distributed orders included driver positions for four beneficiaries, conductor positions for 22 beneficiaries, and one order for technical work. Similar distributions of job orders will take place in Kumbakonam and Villupuram.
Additionally, Minister Sivasankar inaugurated an air-conditioned room for drivers and conductors of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) at the Sungam bus depot. The transport department is taking further steps to address the shortage of workforce by issuing a government order for new recruitment.
Applications for recruiting employees for the State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) will be released in the coming days. Minister Sivasankar highlighted the success of the free bus scheme for women, revealing that the percentage of women using government buses for free has risen from 40% to 68% since the launch of the scheme.
He noted that around 48 lakh women benefit from this scheme daily. He also mentioned that the government has introduced an additional 800 buses for the free scheme, in addition to the existing buses. Responding to concerns about seating in government buses, Minister Sivasankar clarified that there are no buses without seats in the state.
He explained that the seating capacity in refurbished buses has been reduced from 57 to 52 to provide passengers with more comfort and legroom.
