The Hon. Gayantha Karunathilleka

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, at a time when passenger transport warrants special attention, I welcome these timely amendments to the National Transport Commission Act and the Minister’s broader intentions. Hitherto, only inter-provincial buses were regulated; now all public passenger transport, including school services, office transport, and hired vehicles such as three-wheelers, can be brought under regulation. That is positive.

¶ 02 Nevertheless, there are grave systemic issues: inadequate capacity, rising costs, congestion, frequent road accidents, and toxic emissions. Prof. Amal Kumarage of Moratuwa University, citing Central Bank data, has noted that households spend around 25% of monthly expenditure on transport. Considering fuel, maintenance and leasing on private vehicles in addition to public transport fares, many families now spend more on mobility than on health or education.

¶ 03 Rail services are insufficient for demand. There are critical shortages of locomotive drivers and essential staff, signalling defects, and chronic delays. In recent days, multiple rail journeys were cancelled due to driver shortages and recruitment delays—challenges the Ministry must address swiftly.

¶ 04 Safety is paramount. We frequently read of elephants struck by trains, causing tragic loss to wildlife and damage to tracks and rolling stock. Unprotected level crossings regularly cause accidents involving pedestrians, motorcyclists, cars, and even buses. Years ago, after a tragic school-bus collision at Ahungalla, President Premadasa introduced the “umbathu bambu” (temporary bamboo-gate keeper) system as a stopgap. According to data, Sri Lanka has 1,362 level crossings; only about 738 are protected. The rest remain unsafe. The Ministry should implement a rapid programme to make these crossings safe.

¶ 05 The Gerandigala bus crash highlighted multiple contributing factors: inadequate driver training, fatigue, and obstruction of the reservation by shops built on road reserves near the site. We need comprehensive action to prevent and minimize road traffic crashes.

¶ 06 Police data indicate an average of about 64 accidents daily nationwide. Over the past three years, there were around 2,000 bus accidents, including 222 fatal ones. Contributing factors include speeding, traffic-rule violations and drunk driving. Drunk driving endangers innocent road users; a national plan to curb it is essential.

¶ 07 Long-distance bus rest stops are well known; we must ensure food pricing, hygiene and sanitation meet standards—a matter addressed in the Bill. Student bus passes provide great relief; please continue to strengthen that service.

¶ 08 Three-wheelers are crucial. About 1.2 million are registered; we estimate roughly 800,000 operate for hire, with around 300,000 in and around Colombo. Better data and regulation are necessary.

¶ 09 On the “Clean Sri Lanka” campaign, initial fanfare gave way to limited follow-through. In public transport, the passenger is central. Fare adjustments must be symmetric with fuel prices; when fuel prices fall, fares should promptly decrease as well.

¶ 10 Regarding SLTB, successive governments overstaffed for political reasons. We welcome the route-permit transfer reform: when a bus is sold, the permit can be transferred concurrently. Thank you.