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Fare hike not fair as service lousy, say angry commuters
It’s five in the evening; the traffic builds up as people start to fill the streets in Pettah to get home at the end of a working day.
Dozens of buses on the road begin their evening routine with conductors shouting out their destinations to attract commuters.
Soon the once empty buses turn into a hustle with the conductors trying their best to fill every nook and corner; the passengers being shouted at as the buses slowly move forward.
M.W Wimalarathne
A destination that can be reached in half an hour will take an hour or more as the buses stop at each halt with the conductor still trying his best to attract more passengers. This is a daily routine. The situation is likely to remain the same despite both, state run and private buses increasing the fare with effect from Friday.
Commuters react angrily, but they have not had little redress over the issue and feel bitter about the increase without any improvement in the service. Sapumal Hellarawa (21) a university student living in Nuwara Eliya says that with the increase in the bus fare it will cost him almost Rs 120 a day. I am a student I also work to meet my needs,” he said.
“If they increase these fares they should also increase our salaries,”he said angrily. Anushika Peiris (25) who travels from Wellampitiya said, “Most conductors don’t know how to talk properly and they are rude to us. Quite often they demand the fare as we board the bus but they invariably never give us our change,” she said, adding that most often there’s competition between two buses plying the same route and the bus does not stop at the necessary halt for passengers to alight.
She said if fares are increased someone should look into the plight of the passengers. Nigel Lord a student on his way to a class in Colombo tells us, “Facilities must be improved if the fares are to be increased. Firstly the bus conductors have to be taught how to treat the passengers and not overcrowd buses.
“Things go up in price day by day but the people aren’t given any relief, “Minisunta Sahanayak ne,” said M.W Wimalarathne (56) a tour guide. “This is indeed a sad situation. True there is development all around us, yet the needs of the common person are not looked into.”
Sapumal Hellarawa
Private Transport Services Minister C. B. Ratnayake assures that everything is on gear to improve the service. “The Cabinet has granted approval to appoint a Ministerial Sub Committee to prepare a bus fare policy based on the standard of the bus service. The aim of the committee is to formulate new standards that will ensure a better quality of service,” he said.
Senior minister A.H.M. Fowzie will be the chairman of the Sub-Committee that will also include Ministers Dinesh Gunawardena, Gamini Lokuge, Kumara Welgama and Minister Ratnayake.
A spokesman for the National Transport Commission (NTC) said, ” if a driver or conducter did not abide by regulations they would be forced to undergo a training programme at their own expense. If they still continued to flout the rules their IDs would be cancelled and the owner of the bus fined.”
Lanka Private Bus Owners Association president Gemunu Wijeratne said it was the government that regulated the buses. “An absence of a joint time table is one of the main reasons behind complaints of overcrowding buses and reckless driving,” he said adding that the timetables should be made in accordance to passenger needs.
To curb the problem of short changing by conductors he said a prepaid card system had been introduced in about 100 buses in the Western Province. Mr. Wijeratne however felt the conductors could not be blamed for being rude to passengers.“ I feel that it is natural as these conductors undergo many hardships. Workwise they go through a lot of mental stress.”
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