The private bus industry has no objection even if the Government imports 6,000 buses instead of 600 for the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB), Lanka Private Bus Owners’ Association (LPBOA) President Gemunu Wijeratne said.
However, addressing a media briefing, Wijeratne claimed that importing new buses while the SLTB was already operating at a loss amounted to a “national crime” and warned that such a move could also adversely affect the private bus industry.
He said there were numerous unresolved issues within the country’s public transport system and argued that importing new buses without addressing those problems was akin to “showing a movie”.
Wijeratne added that while passengers may experience a sense of excitement when travelling in newly imported buses, this alone would not resolve the broader problems affecting public transport.
“Sri Lanka is not Europe. We cannot operate buses here in the same way buses are operated in Europe,” he said.
Wijeratne also criticised Sri Lankans living in Europe who comment on the local bus industry through social media, making disparaging remarks about some of their occupations abroad.
