Harassed private bus passengers can call 5559595

by Sajitha Prematunge

Two girls boarded a 120 bus bound for Horana, on August 22, near Lake House. One girl who wanted a ticket to Boralesgamuwa was surprised when the conductor refused to issue tickets before Piliyandala.

The second girl asked for a ticket to St. Bridgets' Convent, which he flatly refused and asked them to get off at the next stop. This is a common scene frequently encountered in the conductor-monopolised bus service today. But what most passengers don't know is that these conductors do not have the 'right' to treat any passenger in this manner.

Passengers of Sri Lankan buses today have to face a host of problems, harassment and embarrassments due to the uncouth behaviour of conductors. And almost always the subjects are women.

They are subject to harassment because of the tendency of some conductors to reduce women to sexual commodities or they are unreasonably jostled around because they are considered to be weaker. But unfortunately due to the conservativeness of Sri Lankan culture most women are reluctant to report such harassments.

K.A.R. Ajith Ranjith, Operations Manager - Road Passenger Transport Authority told the Sunday Observer that the transport system of today has gone haywire and that they are in the process of patching up.

They always entertain whatever complaint that comes their way very seriously and take swift action.

The conductor licence is a must and any person employing a person without a conductor licence runs the risk of losing his own licence. In fact many factors are taken into consideration before the approval of the application for a conductor licence such as age, credentials and education level.

"There are 72 bus stands in the Western Province and there are telephones allocated for all. They are either phones exclusively for the bus stand or contact numbers of adjacent shops, businesses or other buildings," said Ranjith. The phones are answered by stand OICs or timekeepers and when a complaint is made, the Road Passenger Transport Authority has the right to call any conductor or driver at any given moment.

The conductors are given a one or two week suspension as a warning. If anyone is found guilty for any wrong doing and still does not comply with regulations the RPTA has the right to suspend the conductor licence. "We have already suspended over 100 in the Western province on harassment charges," said Ranjith.

The girls argued with the conductor but to no avail. What was the logic in refusing to issue them tickets when the bus stops at every bus stop along the way to Piliyandala.

Why ask the girls to get off. Finally the girls demanded tickets to Piliyandala. The conductor refused at first.

The girls had to literally yell to get the tickets, which later turned out to be fake tickets indicating some other bus number.

The girls complained to the RPTA and the officials have promised to take prompt action. But unfortunately the tickets they obtained from the conductor with such difficulty were of no use, because they provide no evidence of the two girls being in that bus.

However Ranjith said that it was the girls' word against the conductor's and it's obvious that nobody complains just for the heck of it.

However they were able to provide the RPTA with the number of the bus as well as the exact day it happened, which are extremely beneficial in making any complaint.

The biggest problem Sri Lankan passengers face is their ignorance of their own rights. Most of them are not even aware that they can complain. And most of them don't know the prerequisites - the proof that's required to file a formal complaint.

A passenger usually needs a ticket with the bus number to file a complaint. If a certain conductor refuses to provide a ticket a passenger has the right to make a formal complaint.

The conductor does not have the right to force a passenger off a bus because the passenger requested a ticket for a short distance. Any passenger can file a formal complaint at the RPTA on Tuesdays and Thursdays or call 5559595.

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