Bus fares:

'No reason to increase'

This year's budget is a development-oriented budget which provides all round relief to the people. The relief offered to bus owners has enabled them to increase profits and there is no reason what-so-ever to increase bus fares, said Transport Minister Kumara Welgama.

The minister was addressing a meeting at the SLTB Udahamulla Depot to mark the distribution of a fleet of 200 new buses obtained on a lease agreement among various bus depots recently.

He promised further relief to bus owners in the near future.

He said the SLTB today operated bus services on a countrywide scale. The minister said his objective was to increase the SLTB fleet to 7,500 to enable it to increase income and achieve a sound financial position. Welgama said purchasing buses on the leasing scheme would not be a problem because the earlier buses introduced to the fleet had already earned an income to set off their cost.

"It is the duty of depot managers to deploy buses properly on routes to maximize income," he said. Welgama said the SLTB imported bus spare parts from India when they could be produced and obtained from the Ekala workshop. "There had been complaints that certain imported spare parts are of very inferior quality. For instance the imported brake liners tend to damage the brake drums of buses.

He said he would therefore take steps to ensure that imported spares are of a superior quality. This would help overcome mechanical problems in the bus fleet to a great extent, the minister said. Welgama also said that a new fleet of 25 luxury buses would be introduced in the Colombo city shortly. "Another fleet of 170 smaller buses would be introduced to rural routes and 50 of them would be deployed in the Anuradhapura district". SLTB Chairman M D Bandusena also spoke.