Private bus fares to remain unchanged for time being

Sri Lanka state run and private bus fare will remain unchanged, officials at the public transport regulator said adding that changes may occur if a significant effect is observed through the fuel price revision.

“According to the calculation there should be an increase of 6.42 percent in bus fares,” Shashi Welgama, the Chairman of National Transport Commission said.

“However we remember we gave an increase of 20 percent and later it was reduced by 10 percent a few months back. “Therefore by tallying that remaining ten percent increase with the 6.4 percent, we have decided to keep the bus fare unchanged.”

Last year the NTC increased the bus fare by 22 percent in June,2022 before it was reduced earlier this year by 12.9 percent following a fuel price reduction.However, officials said, the bus fare will be subjected to a revision if the upcoming fuel revision expected next week causes a significant difference in transportation cost.

“If the fuel price revisions cause more than 4 percent difference to the transportation cost, then the fares will be revised again before the next annual price revision” Aloka Karunarathna, Director Planning of NTC said. (Economy Next)