Battaramulla office workers laud the only SLTB bus plying from Dodangoda
View(s):A Sri Lanka Transport Board bus belonging to the Moratuwa depot plying daily from Dodangoda, a rural area south of Battaramulla, is a boon to office workers to travel to their offices in and around Battaramulla on time and return home after work without any hassle, bus commuters said.
The bus No. WP NB 4915 is the only bus plying via Gangarama road, Werahera, Cancer Hospital Road, Maharagama to Battaramula providing relief for office workers travelling from Dodangoda, Kalutara, Wadduwa, Panadura, Moratuwa, Golumadama Ratmalana, and Maharagama to Battaramulla.
Passengers in the Battaramulla bus
This is the only transport mode for over 65 commuters travelling daily during week days to their work places in Battaramulla where major government offices are located.
The seating capacity of the bus is 40 but over 65 office workers are travelling in it without much comfort.
These commuters are serving state and private sector institutions including the Ministries of Education, Environment, Agriculture, Minor Export Crop, Lands and Land Development, Cultural Affairs, Timber Corporation, Coconut Cultivation Board, Sri Jayawardenapura hospital, Forest Conservation Department, Auditor General’s Department, Richard Peiris and Company, etc.
They said that they will have to travel in at least three buses to reach their destination, if this bus is not available.
This single bus service was started on 4th May 2004 on a written request made by commuters to the then Transport Minister Dallus Alahapperuma.
Without this bus, traveling to Battaramulla from far away areas like Dodangoda and Kalutara will be a nightmare, commuters said.
They appreciated the dedicated services of Depot Manager Thilak Prasanna, bus driver Anura Priyantha, and conductors W.D. Chandrasiri and G.D. Ratnapala
Residents in Werahera said that this office bus helps immensely for children to go to their schools located on the bus route as it passes the area at around 7.30 am.
They told the Business Times that many appeals were made to Sri Lanka Transport Board to operate another bus up to Pettah as it will help people in Werahera to travel to Colombo be it for employment or emergencies, as they have to wait long hours to mount buses as all buses are plying on the Kesbewa – Piliyandala route no 120.
The Dodangoda- Battaramulla bus is the only option for office workers traveling from far away areas .
“If we miss the bus, we need to walk over one or two kilometers to Werahera Junction to get a bus after waiting at the bus halt for hours as most buses are fully packed at peak hours,” said Kusum Perera, a resident.
All the buses coming from Horana, Kesbewa and Piliyandala (Route 120) come fully loaded with passengers and very rarely stop at Werahera to pick passengers who wait long hours in the morning to go to their work places.
If this single bus service is expanded it will be a boon to the travelling public who waste valuable time waiting for long hours in the bus stand, she added. R. B. Wasantha Peiris, management assistant attached to the Sri Jayawardenapura Hospital told the Business Times that she would have to take three buses from Panadura to Ratmalana, or Dehiwala, and from there up to Maharagama or Nugegoda and to Nava Rohala to reach her work place.
But she can travel directly from Panadura to Sri Jayawardenapura onboard this bus which starts from Moratuwa at 7.05 am and reach Battaramulla at 8.20 am.
It will help her to carry out her daily duties without tiring and enhances her productivity, she said.
Lalith Shantha of Saudi Arabian Airlines, a frequent commuter urged the authorities to continue this single bus service which is the only transport mode for them to travel to their offices in Battaramulla.
Dunil Fernando of Richard Pieris and Co. noted that the SLTB should improve this service deploying more buses on this route for the benefit of commuters and it will be profitable for the transport board as well.
Ms. A.S. Abeysekera of the Agriculture Ministry said “Having a reliable bus service at their disposal will be a big help for office workers like her”.
She said that this is the only bus that caters to the transport needs of a large number of public servants regularly.
It also allows them to get to know each other and establish contacts while on their way to offices and back to their homes, she added.
Every time the red coloured SLTB bus plies along the Gangarama road, Werahera bystanders on either side of the road are in the habit of putting their hands out to stop it to travel to even a short distance to their destination.
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