The Transport Ministry commenced the second phase of the City Bus Service recently in Kandy under the “Park and Ride” concept. Earlier the bus service was limited only to Colombo.
The second phase of the City Bus Service has been commenced under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s National Policy Framework Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour.
The project is aimed at providing a comfortable public transport service to people under this policy. The first phase of the City Bus Service commenced from the Multimodal Centre located in Makumbura. Under the second phase, super-luxury buses will run from Kadugannawa to Galagedara via Kandy town.
The main objective of this new City Bus Service is to reduce the number of private vehicles entering into Kandy city by providing a comfortable transport service to commuters and both local and foreign tourists. At present, there is a huge traffic jam in Kandy city throughout the day due to the large number of private vehicles entering the city for various purposes.
The newly-commenced City Bus Service will operate with five super-luxury buses and the number of buses will be increased gradually. The service commences at 6.30 am every morning and a bus will start its journey once in every half an hour from the starting point. The bus fare is double the usual rates of the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) bus fare. The number of bus routes will be increased in the near future.
Launching the new City Bus Service from Kandy, Transport Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi said that the country will get a luxury transport service with air-conditioned buses in the future in place of old-fashioned buses made out of the chassis of lorries. State Minister of Vehicle Regulation, Bus Transport Services and Train Compartments and Motor Car Industry and State Minister of Community Police Services Dilum Amunugama said that this service will provide a comfortable ride to office workers and all the other passengers who come to Kandy using public transport services such as trains and normal buses. Then passengers will be able to travel comfortably and safely.
According to State Minister Amunugama, the availability of comfortable super-luxury public transport service will attract more and more passengers towards the public transport service, similar to foreign countries.
In foreign countries, the majority of the people travel by public transport services because it is cheap, safe and comfortable but here in Sri Lanka, the majority prefer private vehicles as their transport mode. It is because the public transport services are not that comfortable and are old-fashioned.
All buses running for the newly-launched City Bus Service have free WiFi. The first stage of the “Park and Ride” City Bus Service was launched by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Makumbura Multimodal Transport Centre in Kottawa in January this year. One of the main aims of the first stage is to reduce the traffic congestion experienced on roads in Colombo during the morning and evening peak hours by offering comfortable and safe bus services for motorists and motorcycle riders who usually use their vehicles to come to Colombo. It also controls air pollution and brings relief to the stressed-out motorists who have to spend hours in the traffic.
Those who arrive in their private vehicles can park their vehicles in a parking lot and travel to Colombo in luxury buses belonging to the SLTB. Under this system, people could reach the city of Colombo via four routes. Buses carry passengers according to the number of seats available in the buses. This system was designed to run a City Bus every 15 minutes from 6 am to 8 am and from 4 pm to 9 pm. It is planned to operate 64 bus turns per day.
Buses will operate every 25 minutes during the 8 am to 4 pm time period. Those who arrive in their private vehicles can park their vehicles at a parking lot with no charges being levied.
The Vehicle Regulation, Bus Transport Services and Train Compartments and Motor Car Industry Ministry and the Sri Lanka Transport Board are jointly implementing the bus service. The Transport Ministry has also introduced a special App to provide information on the bus service.
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