Buses do not kill; bus drivers do: One dies every 3 hours in road accidents

Passara bus accident in May 2021 (File photo source: Facebook)

File photo of Passara bus accident in May 2021 (Source: Facebook)

High road crash fatality and injury rates on Sri Lanka’s roads are undermining the economic growth and progress made over the past decade on reducing poverty and boosting prosperity. Estimated annual road crash deaths per capita in Sri Lanka are twice the average rate in high-income countries and five times that of the best performing countries in the world. Available data indicate an average of 38,000 crashes annually which result in around 3,000 fatalities and 8,000 serious injuries. Sri Lanka has the worst road fatality rate among its immediate neighbors in the South Asia region – Delivering Road Safety in Sri Lanka Leadership Priorities and Initiatives to 2030-International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank 2020 -https://openknowledge. worldbank.org /server/api/core/bitstreams/562748cf-426a-5645-95a2-d1dc2fe0f6d9/content

“Four dead, 25 injured in bus collision at Kurunegala” – 10 February 2025 (https://www.dailymirror.lk /breaking-news/Four-dead-25-injured-in-bus-collision-at-Kurunegala/108-302040). Four people have reportedly died in a tragic accident involving two passenger buses in the Thorayaya area of Kurunegala. The incident occurred when one bus collided with the rear of a parked bus, leaving 25 others injured.

News items of horrific bus accidents such as the above and what are noted below are quite common in Sri Lanka. These appear on a regular basis in newspapers and media and possibly the authorities, political, administrative, and law enforcement and even the readers to some degree have become immune to these horrific accidents and their aftermath judging by the inaction on the part of all concerned to take steps to prevent a recurrence of these ongoing events. 

• Two dead, 35 injured in bus-van collision at Habarana – February 1, 2025 
• At least 16 individuals have reportedly been injured and hospitalised following a head-on collision involving two buses near the 07th Mile Post area along the Habarana-Minneriya road.
• 29 Injured in Multiple Bus Collision on the Galle-Akuressa main road
• Seven passengers were killed and 20 were injured when a bus skidded off the road and fell down a precipice at 13th mile post on the Moneragala-Badulla Road at Passara this morning, said the Police.
• Driver killed, 19 foreigners injured in accident on Southern Expressway
• Four passengers were injured in a bus accident in the Watawala area on the Hatton-Colombo main road this morning. The rear section of the private bus to split into two.

ECONOMYNEXT (https://economynext.com/one-dies-every-3-hour-in-sri-lankas-road-accidents-data-126766/) says that at least one person has died in 10 road accidents every three hours in Sri Lanka since 2016, as per official Government data. According to data released by the Police Motor Traffic Department, on average, eight people have died daily due to road accidents since 2016. The data showed 20,728 people have been killed in road accidents in the seven-and-half year between January 1, 2016, and June 30, 2023, in a total of 223,451 accidents. Sri Lanka’s motor traffic deaths since 2016 has been over 120 per 1 million inhabitants. This rate is far higher than the United States’ 13 and Japan’s 3, as per 2021 OECD data.

The World Bank report tiled Delivering Road Safety in Sri Lanka Leadership Priorities and Initiatives to 2030 with its findings and recommendations is a report that the NPP government should use to chart a pathway for policy and policy implementation over the next 5 years. Amongst many disturbing statistics in the report, it says that “70% of road crashes involve low-income commuters and motorists, and that motorcycle-pedestrian crashes are reportedly high, accounting for about 40% of pedestrian fatalities, and that speed, drunk driving, fatigue, burst tire and animal crossing are the main causes for crashes.” 

While overtaking, diversion and speeding have been cited as common reasons for this terrible record of the country, the mental status of bus drivers, on account of alcohol intake, drug use, lack of rest and sleep while rushing to meet targets, perhaps are some of the reasons for the reckless driving habits of bus drivers, mainly private bus drivers judging by comments from bus travellers, pedestrians, onlookers and other vehicle drivers. The general observation of many is that no one is safe on the road as bus drivers, especially private bus drivers, have no regard for the lives of others and their recklessness has become part of their psyche. Besides private bus drivers in the main, three-wheel drivers add to the dangers on roads as they drive like slithery eels, crisscrossing from one side to another and creeping through whatever available space on roads, however dangerous that might be for them and others around them. 

Successive Governments have paid lip service to the need to tame some of these sub-humans. Political interference, and even interference from some in the Police force who apparently have vested interest has made sure reckless bus driving continued unabated. Loss of life, the plight of those who get injured and maimed, and the impact on their families appear to be of no concern to reckless drivers and those who protect them.

Road safety for everyone who uses a road, whether travelling in a bus, car, lorry, or a three-wheeler, or for pedestrians, is a basic human right and must be a national priority and laws must be strengthened if necessary, and very importantly, enforced, and those guilty of causing accidents severely punished. The condition of roads and the types of buses that should be allowed to ply some routes needs to be revisited and assessed as some roads are not suitable for some types of buses. The national transport policy and laws governing transportation must be looked at with fresh eyes and updated to reflect what is human and decent when it comes to road safety. 

In this context, the operation of private buses needs to be looked at and a question posed whether the country should have them or whether the Sri Lanka State Transport Board (SLTB) should be strengthened progressively to takeover public bus transportation in the country and end the competitiveness amongst private bus operators that is causing so many accidents and deaths. Competition arises from the need for them to meet financial targets and timeframe targets between bus route starting and ending points, resulting in no holds barred reckless driving to achieve targets causing so many accidents and deaths. 

Public bus transportation needs to be considered as a community service in Sri Lanka as most commuters are low and lower middle-income persons as stated in the World Bank report. In this context, private buses do not cater to commuter needs especially on many non-urban routes or do so for a limited time during the day, as there is no profitability for them on such routes. This causes much inconvenience to the commuters who live in these areas, most of whom are low and lower middle-income persons.

From accounts available in the internet, the national transport policy approved in November 1991 and revised in October 2009 has still not been updated. Mithun Jayawardena writing in Ceylon Today on 7 March 2024 says “National Transport Policy in limbo” and goes on to say that despite being assigned the primary responsibility for its formulation, the Ministry of Transport has failed in finalising the National Transport Policy, which was approved over three decades ago according to a senior Ministry official (https://ceylontoday.lk/2024/03/07/national-transport-policy-in-limbo/). 

A report titled National Transport Statistics 2023 by the National Transport Commission is available, and the extensive statistics contained in it could be used to update and finalise A National Transport Policy. 

It is suggested that the NPP Government considers the development and enactment of a National Transport Policy a high priority item in their agenda considering the human and economic cost of a broken transport system that is unsafe, inefficient and ineffective. Besides introducing road rules, the national transport policy also must introduce compulsory requirements to meet the needs of people with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups like older people. In this regard, a reviewed and renewed transport policy must be within the concept of Clean Sri Lanka and the fleet of SLTB buses needs to be updated, upgraded and repairable buses repaired over a period. 

From all accounts, a substantial government investment is needed to ensure the public transportation system meets the needs of the public. This obviously cannot be done overnight and needs to be done over a period like over five years. The public however needs to know the plans the Government has, how they are going to fund the plan and what they could expect over the five-year period on an yearly basis. Whether its bus travel or train travel, and a combination where practical, commuters need to get from point A to point B in a safe manner, as efficiently as possible, in a timely manner, in comfort, and at a reasonable cost. In designing a transport policy, appropriate facilities must be provided to those with disabilities and older people. 

State of the Sri Lanka Transport Board fleet

Maheesha Mudugamuwa writing in the Morning on 21 January 2024 states that one-third of the national bus fleet of the Sri Lanka Transport Board is non-operational (https://www.themorning.lk/articles /U9x FfHKmyxYTRSprN98o). The articles cite the National Audit Office (NAO) report which says that:

nNearly one-third of the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) bus fleet, amounting to 1,904 buses, is reported to be non-operational as of 31 January 2023. 

• Of these, 1,240 buses are over 12 years old and a concerning 1,105 buses have surpassed the 15-year mark. The buses that have surpassed 15 years include 630 Tata buses, 425 Leyland buses, and 50 other types of buses, according to the report. 
• The NAO, in its latest audit on the utilisation of the SLTB bus fleet at maximum capacity, has revealed that a sum of Rs. 2.52 billion had been spent on the maintenance of this fleet of 6,998 buses in 2022.
• As revealed by the audit, no action has been taken to assess the condition of these buses, hindering decisions on potential repairs or disposal of unusable units. 
• It is further revealed that the General Treasury had allocated Rs. 750 million for the rehabilitation of buses in 2022. However, the SLTB lacks records detailing the rehabilitation and operational status of the buses funded by this amount. Out of this sum, Rs. 606.31 million by the Transport Board and Rs. 143 million by Lakdiva Engineering Ltd. had been expended. Regrettably, the rehabilitated buses have not been put into operation, raising concerns that the allocated Rs. 750 million has been utilised for recurrent expenses by both the board and Lakdiva Engineering. 
• It has been revealed that the General Treasury had allocated Rs. 2.02 billion for bus rehabilitation in 2023. However, no descriptions of the rehabilitated buses or monthly reports on advances received have been submitted to the Department of Public Enterprises and Department of Treasury Operations through the ministry.
• Furthermore, the audit highlighted that the repair and maintenance cost for one bus is approximately Rs. 359,665. In 2022, the fuel cost for running the bus fleet amounted to Rs. 36.68 billion. However, discrepancies have arisen as the number of bus runs operated and the total kilometres covered in 2022 were reported as 1,792,649 and 349,198,715 km, respectively. This revealed a fuel cost of Rs. 105 per kilometre. The NAO noted that 75% of the 6,998 buses added to service had malfunctioning odometers, rendering the figure of 349,198,715 passenger kilometres driven unsatisfactory and incapable of accurately reflecting the fuel burned per passenger kilometre. The audit observed that 7,786 drivers and 7,768 conductors in the board had become a significant impediment to the full deployment of the bus fleet. Furthermore, the audit revealed that the duty rosters had been organised based on a formal system. However, drivers and conductors had not been efficiently assigned to run the buses.

Considering damning National Audit Office reports such as the above, and previous inaction about the public bus transportation system, and the current status quo of the private bus transportation system including the accidents and deaths caused as detailed above. It is a matter of utmost importance for the Government to carry out an urgent investigation into the bus transportation system, both public and private, and come out with transportation policy, and a strategy, at least a five year one, detailing how the policy will be implemented. While the above-mentioned investigation is proceeding, it is suggested that an urgent, interim measure is carried out in regard the non-operational public buses. The following suggestion was presented by a concerned citizen and a social activist, Vijith Gunawardena in May 2020 to then President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. 

Initially re-structure a large depot and a small one as a pilot project rather than spending time and resources on the entire network of depots. By doing this, the re-structuring committee could learn the Positives as well as the Negatives of the entire process. A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis would be the best way to start. The dilapidated condition of many of these Bus Depots with overgrown shrubs and grass with abandoned buses and bus skeletons scattered all over the premises is clearly visible and this situation has a lot to do with the indifference and inaction of staff in these depots. Therefore, a plan should be made to,

• Re-structure the entire human resources pool of the depot.
• Premises to be evaluated, cleaned as most of these depots are eyesores.
• An Urban Development planner/Architect to re-design the depot based on functionality and appearance 
• An initial Operating Budget to be formulated, giving targets to make the unit a profitable one within a stipulated timeframe. 
• Repairable vehicles should be estimated and repaired totally and made road-worthy as soon as possible. Necessary sections/parts from unrepairable vehicles to be taken to repair other vehicles or sold at a public auction. 
• Infusion of new blood - Young graduates from the management faculty, the engineering faculty and Human Resources faculty from universities could be assigned to work with seniors. 
• The depot should be made an environmentally friendly place of work.
• Some routes currently in operation might be financially profitable while some other routes will be not. If the Depot is a financially viable entity once the restructuring is completed, then some routes can be left as ‘servicing only’ without making any profits).
• Need for discipline – It should be mandatory for all staff (drivers, conductors, technicians, labourers and management) to wear uniforms and strict rules should be adhered by all staff members during working hours and within premises as well as on duty without exception (prohibiting the consumption of Alcohol, chewing betel, smoking, etc.)
• Safety within the depot as well as the safety of the employees and commuters should be always looked after. Each depot should have its sub-department in charge of this sector. SLTB buses are to be insured as a compulsory measure.
• The next step would be to draw up an action plan that identifies the deliverables, time lines, resource requirements and expected outcomes which should be measurable and monitored.
• The monitored and evaluated pilot study could then be developed in to a model that could be implemented in all depots.

While no action was taken on this proposal, it certainly should be considered by the current Government alongside the five-year plan suggested to rejuvenate the SLTB as a core inclusion in the National Transport Policy and implementation plan.