CMTA urges govt. to rethink its decision to allow import of old buses

A bus that has seen 10 years of service has a mileage of around a million kilometres.The government, therefore, must rethink the decision to allow the import of buses that are 10-years-old, Virann de Zoysa of the Ceylon Motor Traders Association (CMTA) said yesterday.

He said that the government has decided to relax the restrictions on the import of certain vehicles, and this is most welcome.

“Until now, we could only import vehicles that were less than five years old, since the day of production. Now the government has allowed the import of buses that are 10 years, since the day of production. These are old vehicles and we will have to spend a lot of money on repairs and spare parts,” he said.

De Zoysa added that a bus that has seen 10-years in service has a mileage of around a million kilometres. Such buses will also create environmental challenges.

Sri Lanka must only import vehicles that suit the traffic and road conditions of the country, he added.

Earlier, the President of the Vehicle Importer’s Association of Sri Lanka, Indika Sampath Merenchige, urged the government to have a discussion with them before relaxing restrictions on vehicle imports.

In 2019, Sri Lanka spent about 815.7 million US dollars on vehicle imports. In 2018, the country spent 1.5 billion dollars on them. Vehicle imports were restricted in March 2020.