Carriage limits for student vans; public transport cranking up

Several thousand operators of Sri Lanka’s school transport services have been told they can only carry students according to the number of seats in a vehicle when schools reopen next month.

This is part of guidelines given to them on Tuesday to help prevent overcrowding and to stem the highly infectious coronavirus from spreading.

Students and drivers must wear face masks, and the vehicles must be disinfected every day.

They have been told not to transport students with respiratory illnesses and to designate a person to open and close doors of their vehicles. About 40,800 school vans carried nearly two million students before the lockdown halted their operation.

School services operators held a meeting with Education Minister Dullus Allahapperuma and Transport Minister Mahinda Amaraweera.

All Island Inter District School Children Transport Service Association chief N. M. K. Harsichandra Padmasiri said they sought the meeting due to hardships they were facing.

He said ministers agreed to facilitate bank loans to repair their vehicles that had been idling.

Mr Padmasiri said some issues had also arisen because school opening and closing times have been staggered.

The Education Ministry has decided to open schools in four stages. On June 29, principals, teachers and non- academic staff will resume work. They will implement health guidelines and ensure the school environment is safe for students to return to school.

Once the arrangements are put in place, Grade 5, 11 and 13 students will return to school from July 6, Grade 10 and 12 students from July 20, Grade 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9 students from July 27. No decision has been taken with regard to Grade 1 and 2.

Another problem van operators are worrying about is the different school hours for different grades. School hours have been extended for upper grades such as 10,11,12 and 13. Classes will begin from 7.30 am and end at 3.30 pm. School hours for Grade 6 and 9 will be from 7.30 am to 1.30 pm and for primary school students from 7.30 am to 11.30 am.

"Students of different grades travel in our vehicles. We cannot collect lower grade students at 1.30 pm and wait until the upper grade students come at 3.30 pm. We also cannot make two trips. But the ministry is unwilling to change the schedule. It is strictly adhering to the health advisory," Mr. Padmasiri said.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Transport Board Chairman Kingsley Ranawaka said more buses would be operated during office hours. About 4,800 buses are operating every day.

Railway authorities said they had reduced the number of special trains and were operating 49 office trains in the mornings and in the evenings.

Railways General Manager Dilantha Fernando said transport between districts was allowed. He said passengers were advised to wash their hands at station entry points.

“We disinfect train compartments daily, while sanitisers and disinfectants are sprayed on the floors of railway stations,” he said.

But private bus owners said more people were using their own vehicles.

Private Bus Owners Association Chairman Gemunu Wijeratne said passengers had lost confidence in private buses due to fear of being infected with the coronavirus in overcrowded buses.

He asked that a state subsidy be given to private bus operators so they could transport passengers according to capacity, saying otherwise they would suffer financial losses.

District and Divisional Secretariats have begun to operate with more staff but there are delays because of social distancing measures.

Colombo District Secretary Pradeep Yasaratne said that 90 percent of the staff were at work, but he admitted delays because only a limited a number of people were allowed in to a building at a time.

A few weeks ago divisional secretariats only issued 100 birth certificates a day, but this has risen to 450 a day.

Kandy District Secretary Tissa Karunaratne said only 75 percent of staff had been called to work.

Birth and death certificates, land-related documents and distributing funds for social developments are being done. Election duties have also begun.

Restaurants, wedding reception halls, groceries, and textiles shops have been slowly opening for business.

But day- to- day activities such as banking and shopping for fresh food, are now more time-consuming.

Saliya Ravindra, an owner of a restaurant and a wedding reception hall at Kirillawala, said he could not recover his costs by only allowing 100 people and he is unable to pay restaurant and banquet hall staff.

H Nuwan Priyantha Silva, a restaurant owner in Ambalangoda, said that while he restarted the Akurala area restaurant, revenue was limited.

“We target foreign guests. Foreigners have not yet returned,’’ he said.

The textile industries have suffered due to import restrictions and some are trying to make up for it by selling locally made products.

The managing director of the Lady J, as well as retail Analyst Anuruddha Wijerathne, said that the lockdown heavily affected the textile industry during its peak business season where 35 percent of sales are made.