Chennai, Oct 29:
The Tamil Nadu government has revised its guidelines for free bus travel by persons with benchmark disabilities, extending the benefit to additional categories of government buses and specifying the conditions under which eligible passengers can be accompanied by an attendant.
A government order issued by the Welfare of Differently Abled Persons Department on October 27 sets out the revised arrangements for implementing the facility across government transport corporation services.
The move follows an announcement made by Social Welfare Minister K Jegadeshwari in the Assembly in August. Under the announced scheme, persons with 40% or more disability holding a Unique Disability ID (UDID) card would be eligible for free travel in Express, Limited Stop Service (LSS) and Deluxe buses operating in urban and city areas.
The benefit also covers Mofussil Ordinary buses and Ghat Ordinary buses operating on hill routes beyond 40 km, subject to the prescribed conditions. Persons with disabilities who are unable to travel independently will be permitted to take one attendant.
The revised order covers ordinary, express, LSS, deluxe and mofussil services, besides Ghat Ordinary buses operating on hill routes. It also distinguishes between served and unserved areas and prescribes travel limits of 35 km and 40 km, respectively, under the relevant provisions.
The government has directed the transport authorities concerned to implement the revised arrangements in accordance with the eligibility criteria and other conditions specified in the order.
The extension is expected to ease the financial burden on eligible passengers who depend on public transport to access hospitals, educational institutions, workplaces and other essential services.
The provision allowing an attendant to accompany passengers who cannot travel independently is also intended to make public transport more accessible to those requiring assistance.
Transport officials will have to ensure that the revised guidelines are followed consistently across the services covered by the order, while passengers will need to meet the prescribed disability and identification requirements to avail themselves of the benefit.