Tamil Nadu private bus owners have postponed their proposed statewide strike scheduled for September 30 after the state government assured them that their key demands would be considered, according to a statement issued by federation president K. Thangaraj on September 29.
The one-day stoppage had been announced by private bus owners seeking an increase in fares. The proposed strike could have affected bus services across Tamil Nadu, particularly on routes where private operators provide part of the daily public transport network.
The Tamil Nadu Private Bus Owners Federation had said that bus fares had not been increased for eight years and that the impact of the government’s free travel scheme for women had left the private bus industry under financial pressure. The federation had therefore called for higher bus fares and announced that private buses would stop operating for one day on September 30.
In his latest statement, Thangaraj said the decision to postpone the strike followed assurances from the state’s Revenue Minister and Transport Minister. According to the statement, the ministers contacted the federation and promised to consider its key demands.
“Based on the assurance that our important demands would be considered, we have decided to postpone the one-day strike announced for tomorrow, September 30,” Thangaraj said in the statement, as reported by Dinamalar.
The federation also thanked the media for bringing its discussions and demands to the public. The statement did not announce an immediate fare revision or specify a deadline for the government’s consideration of the demands.
The dispute places private bus operators within a wider question facing Tamil Nadu’s public transport system: how services operated by private companies can remain financially viable while fares and concession-related arrangements are reviewed by the government. The supplied statement, however, does not provide details of the operators’ financial losses, the number of buses involved or the specific fare increase sought.
For passengers, the postponement means the proposed statewide disruption on September 30 will not take place at this stage. The continuation of normal private bus operations will depend on whether further discussions between the federation and the state government produce an agreement on fares and the other demands raised by the operators.
The federation’s next step, as stated by its president, is to await the government’s consideration of its demands. No revised strike date or formal government decision on a fare increase had been announced in the statement.
