Bus fares could be reduced through concessions to operators - Gemunu Wijeratne

Shirley Wijesinghe

COLOMBO: Lanka Private Bus Owners’ Association (LPBOA) President Gemunu Wijeratne said the bus fares could be reduced if the Government provides concessions to private bus operators while maintaining the diesel price at the present level.

Wijeratne at a media conference in Colombo said the LPBOA would be not signing any MoU with the Government before issues are sorted out in favour of the commuters and the private bus owners.

He said the Seven Passenger Transport Authorities and the National Transport Commission should be fully Government owned entities. The Association was not keen on increasing the fares but the only way of improving the service is to afford a subsidy scheme to the private bus operators.

Wijeratne said a majority of the bus owners barely covers the operating cost.

He also blamed the Passenger Transport Authorities of inefficiency and malpractices. “Some timekeepers are earning as mush as Rs. 10,000 through manipulations.

He said the National Transport Commission has failed to redress the bus fare anomalies in the revised bus fares in the Western Province. “So far this has been remedied only in less than 10 routes,” he stressed.