Special TN govt buses to bridge last-mile gap for 19,000 kids

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government will operate special buses for school students in rural, hilly, interior and poorly-connected areas, benefiting around 19,000 children studying in 140 schools across the state, Transport Minister A Vijay Tamilan Parthiban announced on Tuesday. During the demand for grants discussion in the Assembly, the minister said buses would be operated during morning and evening school hours by optimally utilising existing government bus services. The initiative aims to ensure that students can travel to and from schools safely and on time, he added.

The government has also decided to expand the pre-paid ‘Singara Chennai’ National Common Mobility Card (NCMC), currently in use on Metropolitan Transport Corporation buses, to all state transport corporation buses across Tamil Nadu. The move will enable passengers to use a single card for cashless fare payments, while reducing ticketing time, dependence on cash and problems related to providing change.

The government will also redevelop identified bus depots and terminals under the PPP model, introduce integrated cargo services in 9,536 mofussil buses to earn revenue and convert 100 MTC diesel buses into electric buses. The government has also proposed setting up a Road Safety Innovation Hub to develop new technologies and solutions for road safety. It will function through IIT Madras.

Vehicle Location Tracking Devices and emergency panic buttons will be installed in 13,490 government buses at a cost of `17.99 crore. Fuel sensors and tyre pressure monitoring systems will be implemented on a pilot basis in 40 MTC buses, while Advanced Driver Assistance Systems will be introduced on a pilot basis in 10 SETC buses. Annual free health check-ups will be provided to 42,114 government bus drivers.

Among other measures, 5,665 pending motor accident compensation cases involving transport corporations will be settled with an allocation of `500 crore. Road safety initiatives will include an AI-based driver training platform, ‘ThinnAI’, and ‘Vizhi’ dashboard cameras on 100 patrol vehicles.