Luxury bus, a boon to office workers

By Jayampathy JAYASINGHE

The crimson coloured luxury bus on a trial run

Jubilant passengers enjoying the ride home Pic. by Ranjan Asanka

As the crimson coloured long bus plied along the Galle road bystanders on either side of the road watched in wonder. The airconditioned luxury bus was the cynosure of all eyes.

The glee and mirth on the faces of outsiders were visible to us, from the broad glass windows of the bus as we watched them as it cruised along Galle road.

The luxury bus commenced its journey from the Pettah Central bus stand around 3.pm last Wednesday.

We were waiting anxiously to board the bus near the Hilton hotel in Fort. By the time we got in, the bus was half filled. As it pulled up more and more passengers, mostly office workers boarded the bus from Kollupitiya and Bambalapitiya.

They probably were curious and wanted to enjoy the luxury of travelling in public transport which they were not accustomed to earlier.

In fact the luxury bus is a boon to office workers who are anxious to get back in comfort without any hassle and for a nominal fare.

Arun Uchila, a representive of the company in India that manufactured the luxury bus

The fun and frolic among young couples engaged in animated conversations was an added feature to an otherwise dull afternoon.

A one-way bus journey from Pettah to Moratuwa costs only double the fare of a normal bus. The seating capacity of the luxury bus is 41.

We travelled to Moratuwa and back to Colombo Fort to get a first-hand experience of luxury travel. We spotted Arun Uchila, a representative from the Volvo Company in India conducting a survey on passengers on board the luxury bus.

“We want passengers to tell us how they feel about the bus, the noise level inside the bus, how it looks from outside, whether they don’t mind paying a little more and whether seats were comfortable or not.

We want to pass the feedback of the passengers to the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB). The response from passengers was overwhelming.

They want more luxury buses to run on this route. Passengers prefer to travel in air-conditioned buses from one point to the other especially when the temperature is high,” he said.

Asiru who travels daily from Mount Lavinia to Fort said he was happy that a luxury bus service was in operation.

The luxury bus service should be extended to other areas as well, “he said.

Akash who travels daily from Moratuwa to Fort said he was thrilled that a luxury bus service was in operation so that he could travel in comfort.

The conductor of the luxury bus, Jayantha Wickramasinghe said that the bus operates eight trips from Pettah to Moratuwa.

He said the response from the passengers was overwhelming.

The idea of starting a luxury bus service was mooted by Transport Minister Kumar Welgama to ease congestion in buses, especially during the rush hour.

The matter was discussed with the Secretary to the Ministry of Transport Dhammika Perera and other top Ministry officials along with the Chairman of the SLTB M. D. Bandusena.

The outcome was that they came up with a novel idea of introducing a luxury bus for office workers and others who prefer to pay a little extra to travel in comfort. The luxury bus is a pilot project. “It is on a trial run” Chairman Bandusena said the bus plies along Galle Face, Kollupitiya, Bambalapitiya, Wellawatte, Mount Lavinia, Ratmalana to Moratuwa and back. Bandusena told the Sunday Observer that they have mapped out six more routes to introduce luxury buses depending on the success of the project.

SLTB’s Schedules Manager, Nimal Annesly Senadhira said future routes on which the luxury buses operates will include Negombo-Ja-ela-Wattala Colombo, Kesbewa-Horana-Piliyandala-Kohuwela-Pettah, Kaduwela-Malabe-Borella-Pettah. Gampaha-Miriswatte-Kadawatte-Kiribathgoda and Pettah, Homagama-Maharagama-Nugegoda-Colombo. He said a feasibility study conducted by them have shown a good response from commuters. “We have also collected a good revenue. We are now planning the number of luxury buses to be deployed on routes and the frequencies in which they operate.

At present each luxury bus runs eight trips between destinations,” he said. When we got off the bus eventually in Fort we did not feel exhausted. We were quite fresh and felt fit enough to embark on another journey to Moratuwa.