The State has sanctioned ₹17.99 crore to fit tracking devices in 13,490 government buses and add 13,776 panic button units, months after scrapping an earlier tender.
Every bus run by the State’s eight transport corporations is to carry a box that reports where it is, how fast it is going and whether a passenger has pressed for help. Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay approved the release of ₹17.99 crore for the work, Transport Minister A Vijay Tamilan Parthiban said, and officials have been told to speed it up.
What exactly has been sanctioned?
Vehicle location tracking devices built to the AIS 140 standard for 13,490 buses, and 13,776 panic button units. The minister did not split the ₹17.99 crore between the two, and no G.O. number has been made public.
What happens when a passenger presses the button?
An alert goes to a Central Control Centre. The same centre watches each bus’s live location and speed and checks whether it is keeping to its route. From there, officials can bring in the police and other departments. The government has framed the system as a safety measure for passengers, and in particular for women and children.
Why is this coming up again?
It was dropped once.
The previous government floated a tender for the devices and panic buttons; the present government cancelled it in June, soon after taking office. The minister then announced the project in the Assembly on 8 September, and the sanction has followed nearly five months after the cancellation.
Don’t some Chennai buses already have panic buttons?
Some do. The Transport Department’s Policy Note for 2023-24 describes a Women Safe City Project, funded under the Nirbhaya scheme, that put CCTV surveillance and a vehicle tracking system with panic buttons into 2,500 Metropolitan Transport Corporation buses. It cost ₹72.71 crore, split 60:40 between the Union and State governments, and came into full operation on 10 January 2023.
Those were Chennai buses only. At that point the MTC fleet stood at 3,436 buses, out of 20,127 across all State transport undertakings as of 28 February 2023, and the undertakings together carried about 1.70 crore people a day. The new sanction is for the statewide fleet.
Is a tracker required by law?
For new buses, yes. Rule 125H of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989 requires a vehicle location tracking device and one or more emergency buttons in public service vehicles. The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways first notified it on 28 November 2016, put it off once because States lacked command and control centres, and applied it from 1 January 2019 to newly registered vehicles through a notification of 25 October 2018, the ministry told the Lok Sabha in February 2019. For older vehicles, each State sets its own deadline.
- 1 January 2019Tracker and emergency button rule applies to new public service vehicles nationally.
- 10 January 2023Nirbhaya-funded panic buttons in 2,500 MTC buses fully operational.
- June 2026Earlier statewide tender cancelled.
- 8 September 2026Project announced in the Assembly.
- November 2026₹17.99 crore released; no completion date announced.
Checked against official sources on 11 November 2026.
Sources
- Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 755, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, 7 February 2019
- Policy Note 2023-2024, Transport Department, Government of Tamil Nadu
- Announcement of Transport Minister A Vijay Tamilan Parthiban on bus tracking devices and panic buttons, Government of Tamil Nadu, November 2026
