Taken for a ride over and over again

Private passenger buses have been granted a fare revision, but the allimportant question that begs an answer is whether commuters enjoy any facilities which justify the demand to pay more for a journey from one point to another.

Buses operated by the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) are limited in scale, and perhaps, it can, therefore be accepted as argument that private operators are way ahead in terms of numbers. And they call the shots.

Despite the infusion of a fleet of new buses to the SLTB, the impact is minimal and there is certainly no element of surprise on that score. But, the point I want to drive home is that the state-run SLTB is on reverse gear more due to lack of a cohesive plan on route operations rather than being low on the number of buses it operates.

Take Route No. 155 (SoysapuraMattakkuliya) as a tragic example. During ‘weak’ hours, private operators reap a bountiful harvest by gleefully overloading their buses, while suffocating passengers are asked to dish out an enhanced fare, while virtually standing on one leg!

Some of these buses are so old and rickety that I am sure they can be deemed non-roadworthy. There is the aged blue bus where the space between the seats is so restricted that travellers end up injuring their knees! Obviously, this bus operator has added more seats to his old contraption in contravention of the law. There is another with gaping spaces on the far edges of the floorboard but is allowed to operate with impunity.

The 155 is notorious for being driven frustratingly slow to pick up more passengers, stopping for too long at bus halts (Mt. Lavinia/Dehiwala/Wellawatte junctions, Vihara Lane and Bambalapitiya Flats in particular on its Mattakkuliya - bound journey) as the SLTB has deliberately opened the flank for a monopoly by private busmen on this lucrative route.

Despite this being the only service which cuts across the Colombo University, Town Hall, Maradana, Armour Street, Kotahena and up to Mattakkuliya on the Galle Road, commuter traffic is very heavy. Many are the patients who board to seek treatment at the National/Eye hospitals. At Bambalapitiya junction, passengers, mostly university students are sardine packed and travel in agony, with many on the footboard at the risk of their young lives. (Surprisingly, the traffic police tend to ignore this violation).

While this nightmare continues for helpless travellers, why does the SLTB, which is facing a grave financial crisis, not only ease the burden of commuters but also supplement its revenue? In their wisdom, SLTB bigwigs detail buses from Town Hall when most of the passengers had disembarked mostly near Colombo University, Thurstan Road, Royal and Nelum Pokuna during morning hours. The buses are almost empty after they reach Town Hall as the National/Eye hospitals and offices draw hundreds of people to this area on a daily basis.

Depending on luck, a SLTB bus or two could be available from Bambalapitiya junction on a rare day, but one cannot count on it. Private busmen have a field day due to the nonchalance of the SLTB, which, I repeat, sadly lacks route planning.

How many half empty SLTB buses can be seen plying from Moratuwa to Pettah (a route cluttered with private operators), when there is a virtual monopoly allowed on highly lucrative routes? Apart from 155, 183, 255, 163, 154 and 192 are among profitable routes with heavy volumes of passenger traffic, but remain neglected. The SLTB seems to be more interested in running empty buses to Pettah!

Why is that the SLTB is not keen in operating the 154 from Angulana (to Kiribathgoda) rather than opt to push in a bus or two from Bambalapitya junction in the mornings? This is another route where private bus operators hold sway much to the agony of commuters.

There is a plethora of authoritative institutions with their rank and file paid with public funds to improve public transport but even after reading this heart-wrenching narrative, will there be relief ? Suffering commuter

Colombo