By Kelum Bandara

People, mainly office goers, continued to be inconvenienced yesterday since passenger bus operations were hampered by the shortage of fuel.  

In the Western Province, the bus operators have scaled down their operations since diesel supply was restricted. In the Colombo city, most buses remained more crowded than usual. 

Some passengers were seen risking their lives by footboard travelling. Queues running for miles at the filling stations are a common sight in the capital and its suburbs.   
That is despite Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara saying diesel distribution has been restricted to 6,600 litres for a filling station, an amount sufficient only for 220 vehicles on average according to the issuing criterion for each type of them.   

Transport and Highways Minister Bandula Gunawardane said the number of buses plying roads had come down by 50 percent, and he ruled out the possibility to address the fuel issue immediately. He said he introduced the park and ride system at three points - Kadwatha, Makumbura and Moratuwa - for the convenience of daily travelers. Also, he said as many as 600 buses belonging to the Sri Lanka Transport Board could not run due to lack of spare parts.   

“We need tyres and batteries. We cannot purchase them according to price rates stipulated in terms of the previously called tenders. We sought approval to adjust rates according to the latest price hikes of these spare parts in the market,” he said.