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No tickets, No route permits!

by Rajmi Manatunga

The Western Province Transport Ministry has decided to cancel the route permits and conductors licences of private buses which do not issue tickets to commuters.

Western Province Transport Minister Lasantha Alagiyawanna said yesterday that the Ministry in collaboration with the provincial transport authority will enforce the law strictly from this year to effect discipline in the transport sector.

The Minister was addressing a transport workshop held at the Colombo Divisional Secretariat.

"The transport service in the Western Province is faced with various problems. Commuters have constantly complained to the authorities that they do not get tickets while travelling in private buses. The rule on issuing tickets to commuters is not a new law to Sri Lankan bus owners. The issuing of tickets by private bus operators has been made compulsory since 1991," he said.

The objective of the workshop organised by the Western Province Transport Authority was to educate private bus conductors on traffic rules. Around 200 conductors whose licences had been seized by the flying squad of the Authority for not issuing tickets to commuters participated in the workshop.

Alagiyawanna said that all 7,000 buses in the province and the licences of their drivers and conductors will be examined within the next two weeks. "If the local bus owners are to compete with the foriegn investors the quality and discipline of the service should be increased. As a preliminary step the authority has decided to deploy its flying squads in all three districts on 24 hour service even on holidays from next month," he added.

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