CHENNAI: The transport department has begun identifying routes for launching mini-buses, following revised guidelines, within the next two to three months. Villages with a population of at least 100 families or more, that have not been served by government or private buses are set to be connected through this initiative.
If all goes according to plan, the mini-buses will be introduced in unserved rural areas by December this year. Notably, the tenure of village panchayats, elected in 2019 across 28 districts, will also end in December.
According to transport department officials, regional transport authorities have developed route maps for introducing mini-buses in unserved villages and towns across each district.
“The RTOs have been instructed to coordinate with village panchayat presidents and district collectorates to gather feedback. Each route will cover 70% of unserved areas and 30% of served areas,” an official explained.
Three months ago, the home (transport) department issued a draft notification for the New Comprehensive Mini-Bus Scheme 2024, which sought to revive the existing mini-bus scheme and expand bus connectivity to both urban (including Chennai) and rural regions.
Under this new scheme, mini-bus operators may be permitted to run buses up to 25km, with 17km on unserved routes and up to 8km on routes already served by government or private buses. Currently, mini-buses are limited to 20km, with only 4km allowed on served routes.
“Despite the maximum route length of 25km, shorter routes of 10km or 15km may also be allowed based on field conditions. For instance, a 10km route might consist of 7km in unserved areas and 3km in served areas. A government order detailing the guidelines for implementing the scheme will be issued soon,” an official added.
‘Of 6.5k mini-bus permits, only 2.9k active’
Continued from page 1: Recently, a meeting took place at the Chengalpattu collectorate involving transport authorities, village panchayat presidents, rural development officers and others.
At the meeting, panchayat presidents submitted requests for 26 new mini-bus routes. A section of mini-bus operators recalled that the old mini-bus scheme, launched in 1997, became unviable due to poor planning. Of the 6,500 permits issued in 1999-2000, only 2,977 remain active, with 1,500 buses currently in operation.
K Kodiarasan, President of TN Mini Bus Owners Federation, said, “We have been assured that existing permit holders will have the option to migrate to the new scheme. However, we want buses to start and end at major junctions that have last-mile connectivity.”