The Government has finally commenced to force the public transport sector to take a bitter pill. This action has begun to address a myriad of issues with the State and private sector public transport system, in the island.

The new campaign launched by the Government under the ‘Clean Sri Lanka’ initiative, has begun to tighten screws on a long standing public safety and hazard; the culture of impunity and recklessness which the public transport sector has been upholding for decades. 

Many readers, those who commute on a regular basis would have a few stories of their own, about reckless behavior of many bus and three-wheeler drivers who ride their vehicles down motorways like bats out of hell. The decision to strictly enforce regulations and the motor traffic code by the Government will be welcomed by many commuters. The issue with unnecessary accessories, distracting light arrangements, or hanging stables full of devotees on and around the windscreen of buses has been a long standing practice, and one which significantly distracts drivers and denies them clear visibility and situational awareness. However, many governments in the past have not had the political will to take on the bus trade unions, who often take trade union action, which leaves the government caught with its pants down on the lack of an effective national transport policy. In many developed countries, such distractive fittings from the driver’s cabin of public transport vehicles are banned. Further, many bus manufactures – those who build purpose-designed buses for public transport, do so, with wide and transparent cockpits, which give the drivers excellent situational awareness. The fact that there are only a handful of such purpose-built buses plying the roads of Sri Lanka, and the fact that nearly 90% of the public transport fleet is built of chassis originally designed for trucks, itself is a good example as to how weak the national transport policy and the economy of Sri Lanka is. Let us hope that those factors also change as the country inches towards economic recovery.

It is also important that the Traffic Police and the National Transport Board act in a robust manner to vet errant drivers, remove those found under the influence of alcohol and other substance abuse, from the streets. This corrosive culture of senseless racing and reckless driving which takes place on a daily basis, needs to stop. It has already cost many lives. Several bus operators and unions had earlier threatened to strike regarding the crack down, but yesterday decided against the move, following discussions with law enforcement authorities. The Inter-Provincial Private Bus Owners Association (IPPBOA), following discussions with the Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), stated that they would not resort to any trade union action concerning the inspection of buses under the 'Clean Sri Lanka' initiative.

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (8), the IPPBOA General Secretary Manjula Perera said that the Acting IGP had agreed to extend the grace period for raiding buses, which was initially set to end on 19 January. According to Perera, the Police has extended the grace period by another three months. While such extension being granted will help buses be more compliant and reduce the risk of legal action, the Police must follow through on such regulation to ensure it actually happens. Perera also stated that the Police had agreed to establish a clear mechanism for vehicle modifications and road-related behaviour. He said that while discussions with the Police Department were successful, it is the department’s responsibility to develop systems and procedures to regulate road behaviour. "Without such mechanisms in place, the authorities cannot simply blame the drivers. Sudden raids like this are unacceptable. We hope that they will systematise this process," Perera claimed. However, this is clearly the unions seeking respite from the law. They have come used to a culture of impunity and want the Police to back off from enforcing the law. The Government would be wise not to fall for this tactic, which the unions have used in the past. The bus associations have decided to call off their islandwide strike following successful discussions with the Acting IGP. Earlier, the bus associations had decided on Tuesday (7) to launch an islandwide strike to protest against the department’s excessive and unnecessary pressure on passenger transport bus operators. Meanwhile, the Police Media Spokesperson, Senior Superintendent of Police K.B. Manathunga announced that a three-month grace period will be given to private bus owners to remove unnecessary additional accessories from buses. Meanwhile, the Lanka Private Bus Owners’ Association (LPBOA) acknowledged that unnecessary and potentially harmful modifications should be removed, they also cited finally, that they too have a duty of care to transport commuters’ safety and effectively from point A to B.