By: Isuru Parakrama
Colombo (LNW): A pilot project of bus operations without conductors is set to undergo from July 01, 2023 covering all expressways in the country, revealed Transport Minister Bandula Gunawardena.
The move comes in in prevention of bus conductors pilfering revenue and in response to the operational costs of buses.
The Transport Ministry has decided to introduce this new service as a pilot project from July 01, and buses run by the Sri Lanka Transport Board will be adhered to the mechanism, in the hope of expanding the service islandwide following its success.
Under the new mechanism, SLTB buses around the country will be operated by the driver who will oversee the operation of the ticketing machine, the Minister noted.
The project will be initiated at the expressways from July 01, weeks after the detection of a racket where counterfeit tickets had been sold to 34 passengers on a SLTB bus on the Southern Expressway for the Matara-Makumbura route, charging Rs. 1,200 per ticket.
Meanwhile, the Transport Ministry is also working to introduce an e-ticket system for all local buses and trains in the next three months.
