Illegal private buses on expressway

by Saman Kumara Boosa /Lalith Kankanamge Gintota

Assistant Director of the Southern Provincial Road Passenger and Transport Authority Pemananda Gamage says that authorities have received numerous complaints that many private buses without permits operate along the Southern Expressway.

According to him, this has resulted in a shortage of buses along the normal Galle-Colombo route in the mornings, as many buses operate clandestinely along the expressway at this time. The Assistant Director says these buses take in passengers from Havelock Road in Galle daily, and proceed along the expressway to Kottawa illegally, charging Rs. 300 from each passenger.

The reason private buses are able to break the law so blatantly is because there is no proper mechanism to nab those who transport passengers on the expressway by buses that have no seatbelts and permits. Gamage said the situation has caused much inconvenience to the commuters who travel daily from Galle to Colombo, as there is a shortage of buses along the route.

http://www.nation.lk/edition/todays-news/item/3776-illegal-private-buses-on-expressway.html