The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake - Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, this is an important and well-known issue. First, we, as the Ministry, accept that an integrated timetable system is the goal. The Southern Provincial Council has operated such a system for years without major issues. Many problems mentioned have been minimized by running both private and SLTB buses together under that system. We have decided to implement an integrated timetable in the “Puttalam Corridor” this month to a large extent.

¶ 02 There is also a public issue at hubs such as the Pettah Bus Stand. SLTB buses stop in one stand while private buses stop in two others, forcing passengers to go back and forth with bags to find a bus. In Jaffna, a separate stand has been built for long-distance buses, but it is underused due to the lack of an integrated timetable. Our policy is to move towards such an integrated system and to commence long-distance buses properly from Jaffna too.

¶ 03 However, the SLTB has been severely weakened—some assets have even been sold off to private bus owners—making integration harder. Progress towards integrated timetables will be relative to how much we rebuild the SLTB, which is also requested by SLTB employees. Our aim is integration, and we are moving there, but we must preserve both systems to avoid a private monopoly and the crises that come with monopolies.

¶ 04 Finally, having discussed this with the Hon. President, we expect under the next Budget to study and provide a subsidy for rural routes: if the SLTB operates a bus on a rural route—even at a loss—the additional cost borne will be reimbursed by the Government. The National Transport Commission’s existing “Gami Saraniya” (Rural Service) can be expanded. We request both Government and Opposition Members to study and propose, via District Coordinating Committees, those routes where buses do not run or cannot earn a fair return, so we can introduce such a scheme in the next Budget.