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Playlist for buses hits discordant note in some quarters
Unions representing private bus owners and drivers are skeptical regarding the success of the Government’s moves to introduce a playlist for buses but some are willing to give the initiative a chance to see how passengers and bus crews respond.
The CDs and DVDs containing the playlist consisting of 1000 songs along with short videos is currently being distributed to buses across the island. The National Transport Commission (NTC) has given a grace period till January 15 for buses to switch to the new playlist. The CDs and DVDs are being distributed from the main bus stand at Bastian Mawatha in Pettah, the Makumbura Multimodal Transport Centre in Kottawa and at the nine provincial transport authority offices in the country. The Sri Lanka Transport Board is also being issued the playlist.
The playlist however is not mandatory. Bus drivers still have the option of having their own radio on within the prescribed decibel limits or of not playing any songs at all.
Lanka Private Bus Owners’ Association (LPBOA) President Gemunu Wijeratne however, said he did not advocate playing songs in buses at all. “Passengers should have a right to travel without being bombarded by any songs. I made it known to authorities that while it is wrong for bus employees to force down their playlist on passengers, the Government is also wrong to force its own playlist on bus employees and passengers.”
Mr Wijeratne opined that there were “plenty of other problems” regarding buses and said the Government first needed to amend the Motor Traffic Act on noise levels inside buses. “The decibel level is currently specified only for bus horns and not for the interior of buses. This means even the Government’s own playlist is liable to be played at deafening levels. It would have been better if they had banned songs altogether.”
Sarath Wijitha Kumara, President of the Inter Provincial Private Bus Owners’ Association opined that the move to introduce a playlist could be “either very good or very bad” depending on how people react. “We are not opposed to this move, but we need to remember that not everyone’s taste is the same,” he pointed out.
Mr Wijitha Kumara said most buses were just getting the CDs containing the playlist and it would take time to gauge how people would respond. “We won’t know for sure until later on.”
The new playlist was chosen by a panel of experts after the National Transport Commission (NTC) conducted a survey on what type of music passengers want to listen to, said Sherin Atukorala, the NTC’s Director for Quality Assurance and External Relations.
Ms Atukorala noted that the NTC had received many complaints over a long period of time, both via phone and in writing, regarding the playing of loud music and “inappropriate videos” inside buses. “The NTC discussed what to do about this and we conducted our own surveys on what passengers think about it.”
She noted that a survey of 1000 passengers found that while most wanted the songs to be regulated, they did not want songs banned altogether. The playlist came out of a subsequent survey conducted to understand what sort of songs passengers wouldn’t mind listening to, she explained. “As such, the playlist includes a wide variety of songs, including patriotic songs, children’s songs as well as love songs.”
In addition to the songs, the NTC has also distributed short videos produced by institutes such as the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board, the Health Ministry and the Child Protection Authority. Educational and entertainment related videos as well as positive messages are also included, she added.
Ms Atukorala further said the NTC had specifications regarding the decibel level inside buses and would take steps to monitor the playing of loud music in buses after January 15.