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SLTB collections soar with special Avurudu service
Roaring success: The extra buses parked at Pettah (above and below). Pix by Athula Devapriya
The Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) will continue the special New Year bus service until Tuesday (25), and additional buses introduced according to demand, as nearly 25% of those who had gone to their villages have yet to return.
Officials said the transport sector thrived this Avurudu with a hike in commuter traffic, unlike in previous years.
SLTB Chief Operations Superintendent P.H.R.T. Chandrasiri told The Sunday Times that, during the New Year season 250-300 additional buses were deployed per day, islandwide.
The special bus service was implemented from April 6-14 midnight, with additional buses sent to all destinations from the Pettah Central Bus stand during that period. From April 15 midnight, additional buses were deployed for those returning to Colombo from their hometowns.
Even in the week following the season, large crowds were heading to Jaffna, Kandy and Anuradhapura. The provincial services are crowded these days because many have started visiting relatives since last weekend.
Mr. Chandrasiri said these provincial services have a unique passenger pattern depending on the area. “The provincial crowd grew significantly in Uva, Sabaragamuwa and NorthWest,” he said. The SLTB expects this provincial commuter crowd to increase further this weekend. “About 25% of people have yet to return from their hometowns. We expect them to return by the weekend and on Monday.”
This Avurudu season, the SLTB had a 35% increase in its revenue, from Rs 686 million in 2016, to Rs 720 million this year. Even during the week after the season, the SLTB revenue is around Rs 85-90 million per day, in comparison to its normal revenue of Rs 75 million per day.
Road Development Authority (RDA), Director of Expressway Operations, Maintenance and Management, S. Opanayake said there was a 20% hike in traffic on the expressway during Avurudu compared with the last year. He said the total number of vehicles that used the expressway from April 7-16 was around 750,000, and the revenue topped Rs 230 million. “At the beginning of 2017, daily usage of the Southern and Colombo-Katunayake expressways were 45,000 and 24,000 respectively, which increased to 65,000 and 32,000 respectively, during the season.” Mr Opanayake said the maximum usage of the expressway was April 7-8 when it was around 96,000 per day.
As the RDA earlier stated, temporary additional exit points were built in Galle, Pinnaduwa, Matara and Godagama areas. He said the RDA intends to operate these additional points until April 24. “Last week, daily usage was around 52,000 vehicles per day on the Southern Expressway, which is above the normal usage.”
