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Fuel shortage: Private buses to reduce operations

26 Feb 2022

  • Decision affects 25% of bus fleet
  • Prioritise public transport at the pump: LPBOA
Sri Lanka’s private buses plan to reduce their runs effective from tomorrow (28), due to the unavailability of fuel and subsequent long queues at fueling stations. Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Ceylon Private Bus Owners’ Association (LPBOA) President Gemunu Wijeratne stated that effective Monday (28), all private buses in Sri Lanka would halve their number of runs per day.  He explained that this was due to the current fuel shortage, which had led to fuel stations not having sufficient supplies for buses and long queues. “A bus that used to do six runs a day will now only run thrice a day, those doing two will only do one. The current unavailability of fuel has severely impacted private bus owners; even just now I was in line for a long time to refuel,” Wijeratne said. He stated that the Government should address the fuel supply and pricing issues and ensure that priority was given to bus owners when it came to refuelling, instead of personal vehicles. He highlighted that these buses could provide transport for hundreds of people within a day, while personal vehicles could only service a maximum of four to five people. “More people are dependent on our buses for transport than they are on personal vehicles. We want to continue providing this service to the public, but the current fuel situation has not made it easy,” he noted. According to Wijeratne, Sri Lanka’s current fleet of buses comprises some 25-30% privately-owned buses.    


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