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Private buses may have to halt services: Gemunu

28 Jun 2021

  • No inter-provincial buses today: Dilum

  Private buses may be forced to halt services soon as their owners have incurred heavy losses amounting to Rs. 9 billion, warned Lanka Private Bus Owners’ Association (LPBOA) President Gemunu Wijeratne. Speaking to The Morning yesterday (27) Wijeratne said this 9 billion loss was reported within one and half years, approximately the period since the first outbreak of Covid-19 in Sri Lanka in March 2020. “Our private bus industry is in huge trouble. Most of the employees found new jobs and they don’t want to return to the industry. The Government did not provide vaccination for the employees in the private bus industry and they are afraid to return to work due to the risk. Drivers and conductors directly interact with the passengers, where some are not even following the health guidelines. Who wants to take the risk? Everyone loves their life and family,” said Wijeratne. Most of the bus owners cannot even afford to pay the lease, he said, adding that Inter-provincial bus services are also not working. Yesterday, State Minister of Bus Transport Services Dilum Amunugama said inter-provincial bus services will not be provided as per the decision of the National Operation Centre for Prevention of Covid-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO). Previously, a selected few bus services were scheduled to run between provinces from today (28) to operate essential services. However, following discussions with the NOCPCO Head Army Commander Gen. Shavendra Silva, it has been decided to postpone the decision further, Amunugama said. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s private bus owners have threatened to limit their services if fares aren’t revised to reflect the recent fuel price hike. Wijeratne said on 12 June that bus owners will be severely affected by the diesel price increase.  However, Amunugama has already stated Sri Lanka will not increase bus fares following the controversial fuel price hike but will instead provide concessions to private bus owners. Speaking to reporters, Amunugama said the Government has already increased bus fares to the maximum possible rates the public can afford. “We will not increase bus fares by even one rupee. Not just private buses, but the state-run Sri Lanka Transport Board bus service also face a lot of issues due to Covid-19,” he said.    


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