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| Sunday, 6 June 2004 |
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Private bus owners threaten fare hike by Anton Nonis The private bus operators have threatened a bus fare hike from July 1. However, the National Transport Commission (NTC) chairman, Dr. Amal Kumarage said the private bus owners will not be allowed to increase fares at their own will and pleasure. The Lanka Private Bus Owners Association (LPBOA) president, Gemunu Wijeratne told the `Sunday Observer' that they have planned to increase the fares by eight per cent. "But it might be even more depending on the circumstances which are being discussed by the LPBOA management," he said. Kumarage said the increase of bus fares based on a national policy was approved by the Cabinet two years ago. But, they will have to go through the NTC which is the regulating body for any fare increase, he pointed out. The NTC will take 12 points into consideration including price of fuel, spare parts and overheads before allowing for any fare increase. The LPBOA says that on account of high cost of spares, tyres, tubes and also increase in the dollar rate have left them with no other alternative but to push the fares up to counter the losses. Kumarage said they receive complaints from the bus commuters almost daily regarding the deteriorating services provided by the private buses. But it is an open fact that the LPBOA is more concerned with maximising profits, 'conveniently' ignorant of the standards of services provided. Investigations by the NTC have revealed that the private bus operators continue to overload buses and idle at bus halts to cover the short trip causing great inconvenience to the passengers. These problems have been detected even in the air conditioned limited stop buses even despite the commuters paying higher fares for the journey. "The NTC, before any fare increase, will ensure that the shortcomings prevailing in the private buses are first remedied before approving any fare hike," Dr. Kumarage said. |
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