Joint time table for CTB and private buses from Jan 15

by Naalir Jamaldeen

A joint time table for CTB and private buses will be launched from January 15. A discussion in this regard will be held on January 7 at the Private Transport Ministry.

Several matters pertaining to the new schedule will be discussed, Ministry Secretary Padmasiri Jayamanne told the Sunday Observer yesterday.

National Transport Commission Chairman, Deputy Chairman and the Heads of Provincial Transport Authorities have also been invited for the discussion, Jayamanne said.

A joint time table for CTB and private buses operated for some time earlier but due to various reasons they did not stick to the schedule. Arrangements have now been made to relaunch this time table from January 15, the Ministry Secretary said.

He said that at a discussion with President Mahinda Rajapaksa on July 8, last year regarding bus fare revisions attention was focused on launching a joint time table for CTB and private buses.

“The President asked us to take steps and appointed a cabinet sub committee to study the feasibility of launching a joint time schedule for the benefit of CTB and private buses. The cabinet sub committee has granted permission to launch the joint time table and will come into effect from January 15”, Jayamanne said. The Ministry will also discuss the feasibility of deploying private buses under the CTB logo temporarily.

Jayamanne said that the CTB has a fleet of 5,500 buses. Plans are afoot to import 2,000 new buses.