Reply To:
Name - Reply Comment
No to minimum bus fare change
.jpg)
By Sandun A. Jayasekera
A bus fare revision effective from July 1st is imminent but it is impossible to increase the minimum bus fare to Rs. 10.00 from the current amount of Rs. 6.00 as demanded by private bus operators, Private Transport Services Minister C.B. Ratnayake said.
A discussion on the private bus fare revision was held on Thursday chaired by Minister Ratnayake and attended by representatives of private bus operators, Transport Ministry and National Transport Commission (NTC) officials said.
The discussion concluded in a stalemate and another discussion on the issue is due next Tuesday.
“I cannot take a decision single handedly as the largest number of private buses in the country comes under provincial councils. Only about 3,000 buses come under my preview while provincial transport authorities handle about 17,000 buses. Therefore, a bus fare revision must come with the consensus of all stakeholders,” Minister Ratnayake told Daily Mirror.
Meanwhile Private Bus Operators’ Union chairman Gemunu Wijeratne said bus fare must be increased by 15% and the minimum bus fare by two rupees.
“We try our best not to take trade union action. But if we were pushed to the extreme we have no option but to take our buses from the road,” he said.
Mr. Wijeratne added that the bus fare should have increased by 5% in line with the National Transport Policy approved by the Supreme Court but the NTC failed to do that.
“Our demand of 15% increase has been calculated with the 5% gap that had been created. If the NTC grant the 5% increase together with this year’s scheduled bus fare increase we are ready to consider options given by the government. However, if we do not get a satisfactory bus fare increase we would definitely resort to trade union action,” Mr. Wijeratne warned. (Daily Mirror online)
Comments - 12
Recommended
You May Also Like
