(This article is authored by Alar)

The Department of Transport has said it will double the current fare amount for drivers and conductors of regular fare buses.

When The DMK government chaired the Government,  Newly appointed Chief Minister M K Stalin announced a free journey for women in town buses then. Since women travel for free on town buses, the fare collection for the driver and conductor of those buses is vastly hit the bottom. To compensate for the loss and resolve this issue, Transport Minister Sivasankar has been consulting with the responsible staff from time to time in this regard.

The discussion under the Transport ministry headed by Minister Sivasankar occurred followed by the request demand in Fourth Phase Negotiation of 14th Wage Contract from employees working in Tamil Nadu Transport Corporation.

According to a press release issued by the Government of Tamil Nadu, "During the fourth phase of negotiations on the 14th Wage Contract for Employees of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporations, which took place on the 12th May, representatives of the Transport Union Trade Unions demanded that the BATTA be fixed for drivers and conductors of buses where women travel for free.

Based on this, on the advice of the Chief Minister, and following the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation's earlier decision to allow women to travel for free on town buses, the state including Chennai, drivers and conductors will be given double the current fare to increase and standardize the collection to compensate the decline in regular collection"