• Cabinet distances itself from Deputy Minister’s proposal, saying no formal decision has been made
• IPS research challenges assumptions about youth participation and employment in the trade
• Drivers say restrictions without affordable alternatives would deepen economic hardship
• Lawyer warns a blanket age cap could violate fundamental rights
• Union demands licensing, training, enforcement instead of arbitrary restriction
• Public opinion favours reform, but no consensus emerges on proposed age of 40

A proposal to raise the minimum age for three-wheeler drivers to 40 has triggered a sharp public debate over youth employment, road safety, and the constitutional limits of the State’s power to restrict a livelihood, even as the Government insists it has not made a final decision.

The controversy began when Deputy Minister of Vocational Education Nalin Hewage, addressing a public event, claimed that the Government was considering raising the minimum age for entering the three-wheeler industry to 40. He said the measure was intended to stop young people from leaving school and entering the trishaw trade immediately, and framed it as part of a broader push to build a more skilled, educated workforce.

“The future of our country is in the hands of our children. The country’s future depends on education. It is a skilled and developed workforce that will transform Sri Lanka into a developed country,” Hewage said, adding that the Government had introduced education reforms because it believed the education system itself required a major transformation.

The Deputy Minister placed the proposal within a wider argument about how the country’s schooling and employment pipeline had failed young people. He said approximately 300,000 students entered the school system every year, but only about 40,000 secured university places, and even those who graduated often could not be absorbed into the economy. 

“University graduates then take to the streets demanding jobs. Around 260,000 young people are left behind without proper pathways. At present, approximately 1.1 million people are engaged in the three-wheeler industry in Sri Lanka,” he said.

Citing the NEET indicator – young people Not in Education, Employment, or Training – Hewage claimed that 40% of Sri Lankan youth had fallen into this category in 2015. He argued that instead of blaming young people who turned to driving tuk-tuks for social problems, the State needed to ask why adequate educational pathways had not been created. 

“Imagine a young person in Sri Lanka who is not engaged in education, training, or employment. Is there any point in blaming that person for taking drugs, loitering, or stealing? Where did we go wrong?” he asked. He maintained that the Government’s intention was not to restrict the three-wheeler industry itself, but to create career pathways for those already in the sector.

Cabinet distances itself from a firm number

Five days after Hewage’s remarks, Cabinet Spokesman Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa moved to clarify the Government’s position. Speaking at the weekly Cabinet media briefing on Tuesday (25), Jayatissa said that the Government had not yet considered any proposal to raise the minimum age for three-wheeler drivers to 40.

He stated that the Government had received various proposals from individuals and institutions concerning vocational education and training for those who had left school before completing their education or after sitting the GCE Advanced Level Examination. Some of these proposals were already being implemented, he said, while others remained under discussion.

“The Government will make the final decision on what should be implemented,” Jayatissa said, stressing that the specific age limit floated by Hewage had not been formally considered.

This is not the first time proposals have been made to raise the minimum age for issuing three-wheeler driving licences. 

In 2018, Transport Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said that the Yahapalana Government would raise the minimum age for obtaining a licence to operate a three-wheeler passenger transport service to 35.

“Individuals applying for new three-wheeler driving licences for passenger transport will be required to undergo several tests. They must be aged 35 or above. Those under 35 will only be eligible for a three-wheeler driving licence for private use. When issuing a licence, the ministry will also check whether the applicant has been involved in any criminal activity,” the Minister said at the time.

However, on 21 August 2018, the Cabinet rejected the proposal to impose a minimum age requirement for issuing three-wheeler passenger transport licences.

Research challenges assumptions  

Although the rapid growth of Sri Lanka’s three-wheeler sector and the visibility of young drivers have prompted concerns over labour shortages, road safety, and traffic congestion, available research challenges several assumptions underlying calls for age restrictions.

A study by Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS) researchers Thisali de Silva and Nisha Arunatilake found that the commercial three-wheeler sector is considerably smaller than commonly believed.

Although the number of registered three-wheelers exceeded one million in 2018, data from the 2013/’14 Economic Census showed that only 47% were used as taxis. This placed the number of active three-wheeler taxi drivers at around 500,000, or approximately 6% of the country’s labour force.

Around 12% of these drivers used their three-wheelers as a secondary source of income, suggesting that the number of full-time operators was even lower.

The research also challenged the perception that the industry was dominated by young people leaving school to drive three-wheelers instead of pursuing vocational training. 

Labour force survey data analysed by the researchers showed that the largest proportion of three-wheeler drivers was between 30 and 40 years of age. Youth participation in the sector declined between 2013 and 2016, while participation increased noticeably among those aged over 35.

The researchers found that the attraction of three-wheeler driving was closely linked to the limited employment opportunities available to people without formal qualifications or vocational skills.

Around 75.5% of three-wheeler drivers had not passed the GCE Ordinary Level Examination and had not received formal vocational training. For workers with limited qualifications, the industry offered an accessible source of income without lengthy training requirements.

For middle-aged drivers moving from other occupations, the trade also offered flexible working hours and greater control over their schedules, allowing them to balance employment with family responsibilities.

Three-wheeler driving was also found to be among the better-paying occupations available to people with similar educational and skills backgrounds. Its average monthly earnings were exceeded only by occupations such as shop management, masonry, and heavy-vehicle driving.

By comparison, entry-level work in factories and shops often offered lower wages, rigid working hours, and more stressful conditions, making such jobs less attractive.

Based on these findings, de Silva and Arunatilake warned that imposing an arbitrary age restriction would deprive young people of an important source of income without addressing the causes of road accidents or labour shortages elsewhere.

They recommended stricter licensing requirements, including compulsory training in road safety, traffic regulations, and responsible driving, instead of restricting entry to the industry based solely on age.

The researchers also argued that industries facing labour shortages must improve wages, working conditions, and flexibility if they were to attract workers away from the three-wheeler sector.

Drivers describe a livelihood, not a stopgap

For many of those currently driving three-wheelers, the proposal reads as a threat to an already precarious existence rather than a benevolent nudge towards better opportunities.

Kanakarathnam, 20, moved to Colombo from Nuwara Eliya last year and now drives an app-based taxi in the city’s suburbs. He completed his O/Levels but did not sit the A/Levels. 

“I have three younger sisters and I want them to go to school and even university. I want to take care of my parents as well. Since I don’t want to be a burden to them, I bought this three-wheeler on a finance scheme. This is my profession and livelihood now,” he told The Sunday Morning. “I don’t know what I would do if the Government introduces such a law limiting the age to 40 years. There are many days I sleep inside the vehicle at night so I could get hires in the early hours.”

Asked why he had not pursued vocational training after his O/Levels, he said the financial burden and lack of awareness had ruled it out. “Even if I had vocational training, my parents might still have had to support me financially to some extent and I would have spent another few years before getting a proper job. This is independent and I can ease the burden on my family,” he said.

Sanath Gajanayake, 45, a three-wheeler driver from Maharagama, took a more measured view, arguing that better public awareness of vocational alternatives – not blanket restriction – was the real gap. “One of the main reasons for the high number of accidents is the lack of experience and proper training,” he said. “Raising the minimum age to 40 must be done through a regulated process. It cannot be implemented overnight.”

A 24-year-old driver based near Town Hall in Colombo, who takes hires through an app-based taxi service and lives in Wellawatte, said that the appeal of driving a tuk-tuk lay in its independence compared to a conventional office job. 

“With the current cost of living, it’s hard to survive and feed a family on an office job. If the Government wants to increase the age limit, there are many things it must do beforehand, like reducing the cost of living,” he said. He argued that accident concerns should be addressed through enforcement against individual unruly drivers. “Limiting everyone’s opportunity just because of a few individuals is wrong,” he said.

A cautiously favourable public 

Public reaction to the proposal, as gathered by The Sunday Morning, was more favourable than the drivers’ own responses, though almost none of those who supported it agreed with the specific age of 40.

A professional, who did not wish to be identified, said that while taxi services played an important role for those who were unable to afford private vehicles, rising roadside accidents made some regulation necessary. “In my opinion, setting the age limit at 40 is way too high. Perhaps 30 would be better,” he said. 

Sanjeewani Athapattu offered a different diagnosis altogether, arguing that the problem lay with the vehicle rather than the driver’s age. “It is not the age or who is driving it, but the vehicle. We have seen elderly individuals driving tuk-tuks recklessly,” she said. Musthapha, from Wellampitiya, suggested the focus should be on training youth for alternative skilled vocations and introducing short-distance mini-buses to underserved areas.

Purna Weerasekara, a shop owner in Maharagama, said that her own experience as a frequent tuk-tuk passenger suggested the opposite of the Government’s premise. “I have found that older drivers drive very recklessly and are extremely rude. Younger drivers are better, with the exception of a few. So I don’t know how imposing an age limit will help reduce accidents,” she said.

Union leader dismisses proposal  

The sharpest criticism came from All-Island Three-Wheeler Drivers’ Union President Lalith Dharmasekara, who stated that the proposal was damaging the credibility of the National People’s Power (NPP) Government despite the union’s general support for the administration.

Dharmasekara argued that a 40-year age limit was inconsistent with how the law already treated adult responsibility. “A person can get married at 16 or 18. At 18, you are considered old enough to vote and obtain a standard driving licence. You can get a heavy vehicle licence at 21 and a public passenger transport driving licence at 23,” he said. “If the existing age requirement of 23 is enforced for public passenger transport, wouldn’t these issues be resolved? However, it is still not being properly implemented.”

He noted that arbitrary age limits on the trade were not new, recalling that former Minister Mangala Samaraweera had once considered and rejected a 35-year age limit. “I spoke to him about it and he dismissed it as ‘madness’ and rejected it. Now, without knowing this history, these people are acting ignorantly, attempting to limit it to 40, which is even worse,” he said. 

He warned of political fallout if the Government pressed ahead without consulting stakeholders, drawing a comparison with former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s abrupt ban on chemical fertiliser.

Rather than imposing an age limit, Dharmasekara urged the Government to implement regulations already drafted but unenforced. He noted that the gazette on intermediate and para-transport had been passed more than a year ago, yet the accompanying regulations remained unimplemented. 

He also pointed to the absence of any regulation for young riders operating delivery motorcycles, whom he said accounted for a disproportionate share of road accidents. “If you look at the statistics, motorcycles are involved in the highest number of accidents,” he said.

Dharmasekara proposed that the Minister of Transport use powers under the National Transport Commission (NTC) Act to gazette new regulations, noting that the draft was already with the Legal Draftsman and could be finalised within days. 

His other proposals include a mobile registration application for rental three-wheelers modelled on the QR system used for fuel distribution, mandatory taxi boards and visible fare displays on rental vehicles, and decentralised access to the resulting database for the nine provincial administrations responsible for local enforcement.

A constitutional question

Meanwhile, Attorney-at-Law Lakshan Dias told The Sunday Morning that any sudden or blanket restriction on entry into the trade could face immediate legal challenge. “Such an attempt would violate people’s fundamental rights,” he said, stressing that the Government could not introduce new standards in a manner that infringed on those rights.

Dias also said that any new age limit could not be applied retroactively to those who already held valid licences under the current minimum age of 18. “They can decide not to issue licences to new applicants. However, for those who have already obtained their licences, nothing can be done to affect them retroactively,” he said. 

He added that implementing the change for future applicants would require a formal legislative amendment rather than an administrative directive.