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Bus vendettas prod NPC to rush plans for transport body
The Northern Provincial Council (NPC) is rushing through statutes to form a provincial transport body after mob attacks on state buses by private bus operators spread beyond the province.
Following a series of attacks on its buses, the northern region bureau of the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) began placing wire mesh over bus windows as protection against stone throwing
Two years after its election the council has still not set up its mooted Road Passenger Transport Authority but the project will be speeded up following attacks on as many as 60 buses, including one in Mihintale in the Anuradhapura district.
The NPC’s Minister of Fisheries, Transport, Trade and Commerce, Balasubramaniam Deniswaran, said statutes to create the new authority would be submitted for council approval by end of the month.
“Due to some legal complications it got delayed. Soon it will get approval from the Governor and will be submitted to the council for debate and subsequently be passed,” he said.
The new body would be responsible for issuing and reviewing regular passenger transport permits to the state and private sector.
Following a series of attacks on its buses, the northern region bureau of the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) began placing wire mesh over bus windows as protection against stone throwing.
On Wednesday, a state bus plying from Jaffna to Hatton was attacked at Mihintale junction. An unidentified person threw a bottle at the windscreen, breaking it and causing injuries to a passenger.
The bus was attacked after a private bus operating on the same route competed with it to pick up passengers.
The SLTB’s Jaffna Depot Manager, Sellathurai Gunapalasingham, said the Jaffna District Secretary was arbitrarily issuing unauthorised permits to private bus services.
“In the North Central Province, a permit might cost around Rs. 110,000 but in Jaffna permits are being issued for just Rs. 3,000,” he said. “We came to know that some corrupt officials are involved in this activity and we are preparing documents to be submitted to the Bribery Commission.”
He said the SLTB would push for the implementation of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s proposal that a joint timetable for state-run buses and private buses based on a 60:40 ratio be implemented from March.
SLTB employees portesting in Jaffna town
Currently, in Jaffna district alone, there are 1,450 private buses and 250 SLTB buses in operation.
“Even on our local routes, when SLTB buses are in service, at least six private buses are operating within a short time interval, making tight running on the road,” the Jaffna depot manager said.
The SLTB this week wrote to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to urge immediate action to ensure the safety of its buses and better transport facilities in the region.
Mr. Gunapalasingham said the SLTB started a bus service to Hatton following complaints from the public that there were serious problems with the private bus service on that route. “Some passengers complained to us that they were treated badly by the private bus conductors,” he said.
“The attack was a well-planned move by the private bus owners after we began a service on that route,” he said.
National Transport Board (NTB) Chairman Ramal Siriwardena said the complaints received from the Northern Region SLTB about the recent stoning attacks on the buses had been referred to the police for action.
Mr. Siriwardena said problems about route permits in the north started after the end of the war when more private bus owners from the south wanted to operate bus services in Jaffna. “They are given permits without any problem by the District Secretariat office,” he added.
The Northern Provincial Council’s inaction in setting up a local transport authority was the root cause of the problems, he said. All other provinces had created bodies to sort out issues pertaining to route permits.
“The NPC was supposed to pass it but so far it has not done so. That’s why other stakeholders have to act on this,” Mr. Siriwardena said.
Jaffna District Secretary N. Vethanayahan said he had called a meeting with private bus owners and state bus service officials to resolve disputes over route permits but the state representatives had twice failed to turn up for the meeting.
“I have informed the secretary of the Transport Ministry in writing that they are not co-operating with me to resolve this issue,” he said.
An official of the Jaffna District Secretariat, which currently issues temporary “one-day passes” to private bus owners, said there were only two routes in the district without a permanent route permit issued by the National Transport Commission (NTC).mporary passes for the Maruthankeni and Mandativu routes at the rate of Rs. 200 per day as determined by the NTC.
The passes have to be renewed periodically according to the expiry date.
NTC Chairman M.A.P Hemachandra said since his department had no jurisdiction over state buses he could not comment on the issue but agreed there should be a standard policy on route permits and sharing of time slots between the private and state bus services.
Welcoming the Prime Minister’s announcement that a joint timetable will be put into action in March, he said his department along with other parties have sought a meeting with the premier on January 28 to finalise the matter.
“What we expect is a 50 per cent share of the transport slots at the national level and a 60:40 shareout at provincial level. The government also agreed to this,” he said.
At least 16 complaints have been lodged with police over the attacks on buses. Eight people have been arrested and released on bail.
Jaffna and Kilinochchi Deputy Inspector-General (DIG) G.K. Perera has called for a meeting next week with private bus organisations, SLTB officials and other parties to reach a consensus on the issue.