The Lanka Private Bus Owners’ Association (LPBOA) has raised serious concerns over the recent enforcement of seatbelt regulations, calling the move impractical and unfairly targeted at private bus operators.

Chairman of the Association, Gemunu Wijeratne, said that while the government has begun enforcing the mandatory use of seatbelts in vehicles, many private buses cannot comply due to legal and technical limitations.

According to the Gazette No. 1711/16 issued on 1 October 2011, all vehicles are required to have seatbelts for drivers. While new and recently manufactured buses—especially those operating on expressways—are already fitted with seatbelts for both drivers and passengers, the issue lies with older buses.

“Nearly 6,000 buses currently in operation were registered before 2011. Since the law does not apply retrospectively, there’s no legal provision to force these buses to be retrofitted with seatbelts,” Wijeratne said, questioning the rationale behind sudden enforcement of the rule.

He expressed suspicion that the implementation may be a veiled attempt by authorities to crack down on the private bus sector. “This feels like revenge. Daily accidents are being used as a justification, but no one has proven that seatbelts would have prevented those incidents,” he added.

Citing the example of air travel, Wijeratne said even on planes, passengers wear seatbelts only at take-off and landing. “Expecting expressway passengers to wear seatbelts throughout the journey is simply not practical. It’s a joke on the public,” he stated.

He also criticised the government for not addressing deeper issues in the transport sector. Despite promises made as far back as 2012, the long-awaited unified timetable between Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) and private buses has yet to be implemented. He blamed this delay on political inaction, describing it as a betrayal of both operators and commuters.

“The erratic and often undisciplined behaviour of SLTB buses is a bigger cause of accidents than anything else,” Wijeratne claimed, calling for an end to the double standards.

He urged the Minister of Transport to stop “harassing” private bus operators and instead take meaningful action, including implementing a unified timetable and enforcing the law equally across both public and private sectors. He warned that failure to do so could have serious consequences for the government in the future.