Although there is a possibility of bus fares being reduced based on the recent reduction in the price of diesel, the Lanka Private Bus Owners’ Association (LPBOA) stated that this will only happen if the National Transport Commission (NTC) agrees to a few conditions such as solving the problems related to obtaining fuel and reviewing the bus fares according to the existing conditions.
Speaking to The Morning yesterday (8), LPBOA President Gemunu Wijeratne said: “Bus fares can be reduced by a small amount in accordance with the reduction of diesel prices. However, we will reduce the bus fares only if the NTC agrees to a few conditions. We are scheduled to meet the NTC today (9), and inform the relevant officials of our decision. If the NTC agrees to our conditions, we will reduce the bus fares on the very next day.”
Elaborating on the conditions put forward by the bus owners, he said that the Government should take steps to resolve the fuel-related issues faced by bus owners. Although the quick response (QR) code system is in place, he claimed that certain filling station workers are demanding some extra money to issue fuel to buses. He also said that the amount of fuel that is currently provided to buses under the QR code system is not enough, and added that the Government should take steps to resolve these issues as soon as possible.
“Our second condition is that the NTC should conduct a review of bus fares according to the current situation. The prices of all commodities such as batteries, tyres, and other spare parts have gone up in the recent past. Therefore, it should be ascertained as to whether the bus fares are in parallel to such expenses. If the NTC conducts a review into that, we will take steps to reduce the bus fares considering the latest reduction of diesel by Rs. 15 per litre,” added Wijeratne.
Both the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and the Lanka Indian Oil Corporation (LIOC) announced on 2 January that the price of a litre of diesel will be reduced by Rs. 15, from Rs. 420 to Rs. 405, with effect from midnight on the same day. On 5 December 2022 too, the CPC and the LIOC had reduced the price of a litre of diesel by Rs. 10, from Rs. 430 to Rs. 420. However, the bus associations including the LPBOA did not reduce the bus fares at that time, stating that the price reduction by Rs. 10 was not sufficient for a bus fare revision.