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400 school transport vehicles grind to a halt

13 Sep 2022

  • Shortages, hikes in prices and interest rates blamed
BY Buddhika Samaraweera   Due to the increase in fuel prices and vehicle spare parts, the shortage of fuel, and the increase in interest rates pertaining to bank loans and leasing installments, nearly 400 of the 48,000 vehicles that transport schoolchildren across the island have withdrawn from providing their services, stated the All-Ceylon School Children Transport Association (ACSCTA). Speaking to The Morning, ACSCTA Secretary Lalith Chandrasiri Fernando said that in addition to the fuel prices that went up on a number of occasions, vehicle spare parts prices have gone up by 300% over the past few months. However, he said, transport charges have been hiked to only cover diesel price hikes. “We communicated all these issues to President Ranil Wickremesinghe when he was the Prime Minister. Just because the prices of diesel and spare parts go up, we can’t increase our charges in huge amounts because most parents, too, are helpless at present. Their salaries have not gone up, and some have even lost their jobs. So we are still trying to avoid increasing transport charges,” he said. However, Fernando said that as the Government has increased interest rates pertaining to bank loans and leasing instalments, vehicle owners have been left helpless. He also said that the Government should realise the importance of schoolchildren’s transport services and provide vehicle owners with some relief, as most of them have obtained bank loans and purchased vehicles on a lease basis. “We are facing many issues at present. The amount of fuel given to us through the Sri Lanka Transport Board depots and according to the quick response (QR) code system is not enough. We can’t raise our charges considering all these issues, as the charges will then be unbearable for parents. For instance, some children who are enrolled in leading schools through the Grade Five Scholarship examination are using our services, but their parents are poor,” he added. Speaking further, he said that they are currently in discussions with the relevant authorities including Education Minister Susil Premajayantha regarding these issues. He also said that the difficulties that they are currently facing are so severe that about 400 of the 48,000 vehicles that provide transport services to school children have now withdrawn from services. Due to the economic crisis that has arisen due to the shortage of foreign exchange, particularly the US dollar reserves in the country, the import of vehicle spare parts and fuel has been limited. For this reason, their prices have risen rapidly in the past few months. A number of services such as three-wheelers, private buses, and vehicles transporting schoolchildren have been affected due to the issue.  


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