Public transport services suffer losses in mobility restriction
With COVID-19 hitting hard in the third wave, bus and train services in the country have suffered billions of rupees in losses as commuters shunned mass transport during mobility restriction period in the pandemic.
Public transportation recorded a restrained performance in the first quarter this year as buses and trains have not been able to operate at full capacity, senior Transport Ministry sources said adding that the two services have also incurred a loss in revenue in four and half months this year.
The total revenue of Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) has dropped to Rs. 8.74 billion during the first four and half months this year from Rs 10.86 billion during the same period last year, unaudited financial statements showed.
The number of kilometerage and buses operated during this period was also cut down due to the imposition of COVID-19 related mobility restrictions in 1Q this year and the countrywide-wide unofficial lockdown imposed from May 13.
The island-wide lockdown imposed from mid-March to end-April last year resulted in a temporary suspension of public passenger transportation.
Although public passenger transportation activities gradually improved with the easing of mobility restrictions from early May, transport activities were again affected in the final quarter of 2020 due to localised lockdowns, a senior ministry official told the Business Times.
During 2020, the average number of buses operated by the SLTB declined to 4,045 from 5,048 in 2019, he disclosed.
According to provisional unaudited financial statements, total revenue of the SLTB declined by 28.2 per cent to Rs. 31.2 billion owing to reduced passenger movements.
The SLTB, which had been operationally profitable in recent years, reported an operating loss of Rs. 2.3 billion in 2020 compared to an operating profit of Rs. 1.6 billion recorded in 2019.
The financial performance of the Sri Lanka Railways ( SLT) was also subdued last year recording an operational loss of Rs. 10.1 billion in 2020, in passenger transport compared to the loss of Rs. 7.6 billion in 2019. (BS)