Private buses will charge extra: LPBOA
An extra percentage would be charged from private bus passengers taking into consideration the cost of fuel wasted due to delays caused by traffic congestion, from July 1, said Lanka Private Bus Owners’ Association (LPBOA) Chairman Gemunu Wijeratne yesterday.
He said such a decision would be taken if the government did not take action to reduce the number of private vehicles on the road.
“The recent tax increment was mainly on luxury vehicles, but no tax was imposed on small vehicles. The government also encourages the people in the country to buy vehicles with lower engine capacity,” Mr. Wijerathne said.
“The number of private vehicles on the roads is at its peak. Due to that, road traffic is increasing. Private buses have to spend more time on the road and 50 percent of the fuel is wasted. This is a huge loss for the bus owners,” he said.
“We have already informed the National Transport Commission (NTC), Transport Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva and Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayaka requesting a discussion regarding the decision. We have also informed President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe,” he said.
“As private bus operators we are responsible for 52 percent of the public transportation in the country. But the government is not giving any consideration to the private bus sector. The government is not taking any steps to develop the private bus industry,” he said.
“It has been over six months since we suggested a separate bus lane on the main roads but the government does not seem to be considering it,” he said.
“If the government does not find a way to ease the traffic congestion, the association will definitely conduct an island wide bus strike soon,” he said.
(Daily Mirror – By Chaturanga Pradeep)
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Dear Mr. Gemunu Wijeratna,
Please do consider adding another I0 p.c. to cover up the cost of additional wear and tear by overloading of passengers due to population explosion. After all you do not willingly overload your buses- It is to meet the customer demand .You might also add a warning that unless the government takes meaningful remedial actions to arrest the population explosion immediately or grant your demand your Association will be reluctantly compelled to take Trade Union action as from tomorrow itself.
I am not trying to be sarcastic. I do really mean it ( For my age and status I do not travel by buses.)
Dear Mr Wijeratne,
You provide an excellent service.
Despite my age and diplomatic “status”, I prefer to travel in your buses. They are superb massage parlours. Where else can I get a free body to body massage, specially when sandwiched between three young lassies.
When I was in Sweden, a vertical CFNM massage was costing me 35 Kroner. In Sri Lanka, you get it for free in the private buses.
Make sure you are a standing passenger and weave yourself between 3 or young lassies.
By the time you reach your destination, you will be stiff and rejuvenated.
For the super service that the private bus operators give us I think the minimum ticket should be made at least 50 this is Rupees 8 for the journey balance for the amount as service charges for remarks given by the conductor and driver the steam bath, foot massage, and body massage by bags and not forgetting the ammount of time waiting in bus stops, they actually stop and wait for the passenger and not let the passenger wait for them and a charge for getting people late to office and getting their salaries cut,
tell them to go on Strike it is they that will loose as most of the busses have been purchased on finance and finances have to paid at the end of the month
What about the people of SL imposing a surcharge on your organisation or the government then, because of the cost to their health due to increased air pollution? That has worse, irreversible consequences, specially on children.