Chennai, May 16 Tamil Nadu’s state-run transport corporations are staring at an additional annual financial burden of nearly Rs 175.58 crore following the recent Rs 2.86 per litre hike in high-speed diesel prices announced by oil marketing companies.
The increase is expected to further strain the already loss-making public transport sector in the state. The eight state transport undertakings — Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC), State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) and the six divisions of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) — together operate around 19,000 buses every day across more than 10,120 routes. These buses consume an average of 16.82 lakh litres of diesel daily while covering nearly 81 lakh kilometres across Tamil Nadu.
According to Transport Department Secretary Shunchonngam Jatak Chiru, the transport corporations are already incurring a combined daily loss of nearly Rs 19 crore. With the latest rise in diesel prices, the daily operational loss is expected to rise further by around Rs 48.11 lakh.
Officials said the transport corporations spend nearly Rs 5,200 crore annually on diesel purchases alone, which accounts for around 26 per cent of the total expenditure involved in operating bus services. The state-run buses continue to remain the backbone of Tamil Nadu’s public transport network, connecting nearly 98 per cent of villages with populations exceeding 1,000.
Transport workers’ unions have blamed the worsening financial condition on the government’s continued reluctance to revise bus fares in proportion to rising fuel prices. Government bus fares were last revised in January 2018 when diesel was priced at around Rs 65 per litre. The price has now touched nearly Rs 95 per litre.
Official records show that the average daily loss of the transport corporations rose steadily from Rs 16.83 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 17.7 crore in 2023-24 before reaching Rs 18.9 crore in 2024-25. Despite the mounting losses, Tamil Nadu continues to register the highest public transport ridership in the country.
Average daily passenger usage increased from 1.55 crore commuters in 2021-22 to nearly 2.05 crore in 2025-26. This includes around 70 lakh women passengers travelling free of cost under the State government’s Vidiyal Payanam scheme operating on 7,331 ordinary buses.
Tamil Nadu also continues to maintain one of the cheapest bus fare structures in the country. The fare for ordinary buses stands at 58 paise per kilometre, while ultra deluxe buses charge Rs 1 per kilometre.
In neighbouring states such as Karnataka and Kerala, ordinary bus fares range between 75 paise and Rs 1 per kilometre, while premium services charge between Rs 1.20 and Rs 1.68 per kilometre.
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