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Fuel
hikes add fire to CoL Hours after the fuel prices were increased, private bus owners pulled hundreds of buses out of service yesterday demanding they be allowed to increase fares, including a basic fare increase from Rs. 3.50 to Rs. 5. An official of the Private Bus Owners' Association said yesterday's sudden strike was informal and launched by individual operators but a formal islandwide strike would be launched from Wednesday if their demand was not met. More than 50 bus routes in and around the city were crippled, leaving tens of thousands of commuters stranded and wondering what was happening. The government announced on Friday that diesel prices were being increased by Rs. 8 a litre in Colombo city and Rs. 6 in other areas while the petrol price was increased by Rs. 2 in Colombo city. City filling station owners yesterday expressed concern over the move to have one price in Colombo and a lesser price outside, saying it could affect their sales. Meanwhile lorry transporters said they would be forced to increase transport charges for vegetables and other items to and from Colombo. Office and school van transport operators said yesterday they were also considering an increase in their rates. Adding fire to the fuel, as one smoker quipped, the prices of cigarettes were also increased by 50 cents yesterday. |
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