State Minister of Transport Dilum Amunugama says that the minimum bus fare will be increased by Rs. 03 with effect from January 05, 2022. Accordingly, the minimum fare for travel in Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) and private passenger buses will be increased from Rs. 14 to Rs. 17 from next Wednesday (05). He stated that the other categories of bus fares, excluding minimum fare category, for SLTB and private passenger transport buses will be increased by 17% with effect from the date. Speaking at a press conference in Colombo today, he said that the National Transport Commission (NTC) has received the revised bus fares for each section and category formulated based on the pricing formula. Amunugama said that several factors including the prices of fuel, hiring costs and spare part prices were taken into consideration when preparing the pricing formula. Accordingly, the minimum fare which was Rs. 14 will have to be increased to Rs. 17 from the morning of January 05, he said, adding that the other fares would likely increase by around 16.5%-17%. He stressed that though they take no pleasure in increasing the bus fares, it is unavoidable especially considering the various issues faced by the industry since recently owing to the Covid-19 pandemic situation. He said that bus owners are even unable to pay off leasing installments as buses were not operating for a long period and added to that the last diesel price hike and recent fuel price hike have led to more difficulties for the industry. The state minister said that while giving due consideration to the bus industry as well as the passengers, they plan to increase fares by the least amount possible. He said that the National Transport Commission (NTC) will publish the full list of the revised fares of every route, based on the distance, on the newspapers on January 03 or 04. The state minister reiterated that this fare revision is for buses transporting passengers at seating capacity and that buses are still not permitted to exceed seating capacity and transport standing passengers.