Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports, and Civil Aviation Bimal Rathnayake recently held a special discussion with the chairpersons of the National Transport Commission (NTC), Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB), and the Provincial Passenger Transport Authorities from all nine provinces.
Following extensive discussions with officials from NTC, SLTB, and the provincial bodies, a series of important decisions were made to improve and modernize Sri Lanka’s passenger transport system.
Key decisions taken include:
– Immediate implementation of a unified timetable on the Puttalam route.
– Launching a pilot project on route 138, operating all buses under a single association with a profit-sharing mechanism.
– Mandatory installation of GPS tracking and CCTV cameras in all buses.
– Development of an online ticket booking system in collaboration with the Digital Ministry.
– Conducting random drug and alcohol testing for bus drivers.
– Making ticket issuance through ticket machines compulsory (with a grace period provided).
– Establishment of specifications for passenger buses.
– Mandatory use of seat belts for bus drivers.
– Introduction of a mechanism to allocate new routes for new buses.
– Displaying WhatsApp numbers in all buses for passengers to report violations, with separate numbers for NTC, SLTB, and each of the nine provinces.
Minister Rathnayake instructed officials to expedite the preliminary work needed for the implementation of these decisions and emphasized the need for continuous monitoring of progress. (Newswire)
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