• Dedicated lane mooted for bicycles, mobikes

Transport Minister Bimal Rathnayake said that although train fares should also be increased according to the relevant formulas, the Government does not intend to do so at present. Speaking in Parliament yesterday (8), he said: "Technically, railway fares should also be increased according to the formula, but, we are not expecting to increase train fares."

Explaining the recent bus fare revision, he said that the Government had been able to maintain bus fares at a stable level during its first 18 months in office. "However, the rise in global fuel prices following the Iran conflict made a fare revision unavoidable." He said that the Cabinet of Ministers had initially approved a 15 per cent increase in bus fares. However, he said that the fuel prices were reduced on the day that the proposal was taken before the Cabinet, prompting the Government to scale back the increase to 12%. Acknowledging that the increase would place an additional burden on commuters, Rathnayake said that the Government recognised that public transport should remain affordable, but noted that fare-related decisions had to be made in line with the overall economic conditions. "We know that this is difficult for the public. Public transport fares should ideally be lower. But, whether fares can be reduced depends on the overall state of the economy," he said. He added that the Government expected to gradually reduce bus fares if fuel prices continue to decline in the future. "We hope that, with further reductions in fuel prices in the coming months, bus fares can also be brought down gradually," he said.

Meanwhile, Rathnayake stated that the Government will introduce a cluster bus company system to improve public transportation, adding that Cabinet approval for the initiative was recently granted.

He made these remarks on Tuesday (7) while chairing the meeting of the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Transport, Highways and Urban Development in Parliament. He further stated that the scheme will initially be implemented as a pilot project on bus routes 177, 170 and 190.

He also said that the previous four categories of bus services; normal, semi-luxury, luxury and super-luxury have been streamlined by removing the semi-luxury and super-luxury categories. Referring to the semi-luxury category, he stated that a related court case is currently pending and that the relevant facts will be presented before court.

Rathnayake further pointed out that it is not equitable to apply a single fare formula to both long-distance and short-distance bus services. Given the higher operating costs associated with long-distance services, a separate methodology will be introduced to determine fares for long-distance buses.

Officials explained that although fuel prices have declined, other operating costs remain high, limiting the scope for fare reductions.

The Committee also discussed a range of issues including establishing dedicated lanes for bicycles and motorcycles, and complaints from passengers regarding the failure to receive the correct change from bus conductors. Officials were instructed to take necessary action on these matters.

He further directed officials to intervene promptly to resolve issues raised by Parliamentarians relating to the transport and urban development sectors.

Elsewhere, a private bus overturned into the Thalagala Oya near the Gregory Lake in Nuwara Eliya, yesterday (8). The bus, which was operating on the Nuwara Eliya–Shanthipura route, reportedly veered off the road and overturned into the stream after the driver lost control while attempting to park the vehicle. Only the driver and the conductor were on board at the time of the accident. Neither sustained injuries. Also, an overturned container truck has obstructed two lanes of the road between Dematagoda and Peliyagoda near Grandpass in Colombo, prompting the Police to implement traffic diversions while efforts are underway to clear the obstruction. The incident occurred yesterday afternoon when a container truck travelling from Avissawella towards Peliyagoda overturned while making a right turn at the Orugodawatta Junction within the Grandpass Police Division. As a result, two lanes of the roadway from Dematagoda to Peliyagoda have been blocked. To ease traffic congestion, arrangements have been made to facilitate vehicle movement in both the directions — from Dematagoda to Peliyagoda and from Peliyagoda to Dematagoda — by utilising the lane normally allocated for traffic travelling from Peliyagoda towards Dematagoda. Police stated that necessary measures are currently being taken to remove the obstruction and restore the normal traffic flow as soon as possible.