Over 400 Private Buses in Coimbatore to Stay Off Roads for 24 Hours From Midnight on September 29

Coimbatore: More than 400 private buses across Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Pollachi and Mettupalayam are expected to stay off the roads on September 29 as private bus operators across Tamil Nadu stage a one-day strike against the proposed expansion of the State Government’s ‘Magalir Vetri Payanam’ free bus travel scheme.

The Federation of Private Bus Owners’ Associations on Monday announced that private buses across Tamil Nadu would remain off the roads for 24 hours, from midnight on September 29 to midnight on September 30. The federation called the strike to protest the government’s plan to extend the free travel scheme for women to additional categories of government buses from October 2.

The protest has been called by private bus operators who fear that extending free travel for women to more government buses will significantly affect their passenger numbers and revenue.

Around 7,500 private passenger buses operate across Tamil Nadu, including 350 in Coimbatore district. Operators fear that the expanded scheme will lead to a sharp decline in the number of women passengers using private buses, resulting in daily revenue losses of more than 50%.

Duraikannan, Coimbatore District president of the Private Bus Owners’ Association, said the sector had been facing financial difficulties, with no fare revision for private buses since 2018.

Explaining the financial challenges, he said a private bus generates around ₹12,000 to ₹14,000 in daily collections. A substantial amount is spent on 90 to 100 litres of diesel, while ₹2,700 is paid as allowances to the driver and conductor.

He said the remaining amount of around ₹3,500 had to cover vehicle insurance, road tax and maintenance expenses, leaving operators with limited earnings.

The association has demanded that the government provide an appropriate subsidy to compensate for the anticipated losses.

“We will keep private buses off the roads for one day on September 29 as a symbolic strike to press for our demand for government subsidies,” Duraikannan said.

He clarified that private bus operators were not opposed to the free travel scheme, which benefits women, but urged the government to consider the financial losses the expansion could cause to the private bus sector.

As an alternative, the association has proposed including private buses in the free travel scheme and providing them with subsidies on the lines of the compensation paid to government buses by the Transport Department.

He said the move would allow women to use private buses under the scheme while also helping operators avoid financial losses. He added that allowing private buses to participate would provide women with more travel options and help reduce congestion.

Warning of the potential impact on the sector, he said the entire motor transport industry, which was already facing a severe crisis, could be pushed towards collapse if the government failed to consider their demands. He said more than one crore families dependent on the sector could be affected. When asked whether they had approached government officials to resolve the issue, association representatives said they had tried to contact the authorities but had not received a proper response. They said the Transport Minister had assured them that the matter would be taken care of, but no action had been taken so far, forcing them to announce the strike.