Bus passengers declare victory after NTC decides to scrap semi-luxury bus service 

The All Ceylon Bus Passengers Association has commended the Government’s decision to terminate the inter-provincial semi-luxury bus service in Sri Lanka after receiving a plethora of complaints from passengers over the past years. 

“We are pleased the National Transport Commission has taken steps to suspend the inter-provincial semi-luxury bus service from next month onwards following heavy criticisms levelled against it by passengers,” convenor of the association, Vimukthi Dushantha said. 

The NTC announced its decision yesterday and said the bus service will be suspended from May. According to NTC Director General Nilan Miranda, the decision was taken after careful consideration of complaints received from passengers. 

According to Dushantha, while the NTC had sought to suspend the bus service on several occasions since 2018 considering the complaints it received, the Commission failed to follow through after being challenged by the ‘bus mafia’ in Sri Lanka. 

The association extended its gratitude to the Ministry of Transport and the NTC for taking a firm decision on the matter this time around notwithstanding the many obstacles and challenges faced. Accordingly, semi-luxury bus operators have now been informed by the NTC to convert their buses to either regular or luxury bus services instead. Passengers have long complained about the bus service claiming it offers regular bus services at a higher charge and with no additional facilities to commuters.