Transport Minister rejects demand for fare hike

Rajmi Manatunga

COLOMBO: Amidst threats of a private bus strike, Transport Minister A.H.M. Fowzie yesterday rejected the private bus owners' demand for fuel at a lower price if a bus fare hike is to be avoided.

Responding to bus union threats to increase fares unless diesel is provided at the price that prevailed in April, Fowzie said the Government was not ready to give in to such unfair demands from the bus owners.

"They made similar demands at last Thursday's meeting with the President where they requested the Government to either give diesel at a reduced price or permit a fare increase. But we could not agree with them," he said.

Fowzie said they were ready to face any problems caused by a possible private bus strike. "It is only a small section of the private bus community who are threatening to strike. Therefore, a strike will affect only a few bus routes.

"Even if there is a large scale strike we will make sure that the bus service does not break down by using State-owned buses," he said. Meanwhile, Lanka Private Bus Owners' Association (LPBOA) President, Gemunu Wijeratne said they will launch an islandwide bus strike from Monday next week if the Government fails to grant their demands.

"According to the National Bus Fare Policy, we are entitled to effect a bus fare hike when fuel prices go up by 5.4 per cent. Since April, the diesel price has increased by nearly nine per cent. We have suffered a loss of around Rs. 50 million due to this," he said.