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| Saturday, 2 October 2004 |
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2,000 more CTB buses by year end by Rajmi Manatunga The Transport Ministry has decided to deploy 2,000 more buses on road by the end of the year to strengthen the State bus sector. Transport Minister Felix Perera said the decision was taken after President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga allocated Rs. 150 million for repairing unroadworthy buses attached to the Central Transport Board (CTB). According to CTB statistics, over 2,000 buses have been abandoned during the past few years due to the shortage of spare parts and other equipment. This has resulted in the domination of the passenger transport sector by private buses which account for over 70 per cent of the entire bus fleet. Minister Perera said that the objective of the Government was to increase the present CTB fleet attached to cluster bus companies islandwide to 10,000 to provide a reliable and quality bus service. The CTB has more than 7,000 buses. But out of this 7,000 only around 4,000 buses deemed to be roadworthy are generally used. In addition to the Rs 150 million allocation, the President has also provided Rs 90 million to purchase spare parts for buses lying idle at CTB depots and workshops. A CTB official told the Daily News that they were compelled to remove these buses from daily operations since the authorities did not have sufficient funds to buy the equipment required for repairs. Replacing the parts of unroadworthy buses with those of other buses has also resulted in a large number of abandoned vehicles. |
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