REVAMPING THE PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEM

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ARTICLE FROM THE EDITORIAL OF THE DAILY MIRROR :

Revamping public transport systems

The tragedy of the schoolgirl Dilshani Karunaratne’s death on the eve of the Children’s Day while travelling to her school, Swarna Jayanthi Maha Vidyalaya, Kegalle in a private passenger bus draws the attention of the authorities to the important task of providing safety for children. Schoolchildren in this country, as is well known, are subjected to numerous problems. Their difficulties begin from the time of gaining admission to a school and persist till they complete their education at institutions of higher education.

This eleven-year-old schoolgirl met with her tragic end when a part of the floorboard of the bus in which she was travelling gave way throwing her down to the ground to be run over by the same bus. It has been revealed that this bus has been operating with the damaged floorboard without being properly repaired for over four years Ironically, the vehicle is said to be owned by the president of the school bus operators’ association.

Travails of travelling to their schools constitute one of the biggest problems most schoolchildren face. Most parents who are averse to depending on public transport arrange private van transport for their children spending a big share from their limited incomes. These van services operated, more often than not, by unsuitable persons also pose many problems.

These services, no doubt, provide avenues of income to the owners of these vans and employment to the unemployed. However, the negative consequences of these services far outweigh the positive results.

The Transport Ministry meanwhile has failed so far to eliminate shortcomings in school van services or to set up a satisfactory new school bus service under the SLTB. It is hoped that the new transport National Transport Policy that the Transport ministry has formulated will cover this important aspect of public transport too. The new NTP covers, as explained by Minister Dullas Alahapperuma, SLTB, the Sri Lanka Railways and also haulage of goods by sea and air. The minister’s plans indeed are impressive. He says, “The objective of the NTP is to make the national transport service a national asset that does not depend on public funding. We have to introduce a new culture, new technology and work ethics to upgrade the transport system quality-wise and quantity-wise. The government expects to inject about Rs.400 billion to the national transport system in the next five years to achieve this objective.”

The achievement of this goal is not impossible if he succeeds in infusing a new culture, new technology and a new pattern of work ethics into the system. Successive governments and ministers also made similar efforts to revamp the transport system during their stewardships. Treasury also continuously pumped funds to implement various plans for the purpose. But the results achieved have not made any impact on the system. The SLTB continued to plod along as an inefficient entity gobbling up much public revenue while the private sector invaded the field with devastating effect.

Some improvement in the SLTB and Railways could, however, be observed since Minister Alahapperuma took over the ministry. But judging from various reports about the shortcomings and weaknesses that still persist in both transport systems, the challenge that the minister faces is indeed huge. The minister says that the government has already initiated a five-year development project for Sri Lanka Railways and the SLTB under which there will be an improved fleet of new trains, power sets and new train coaches with modern facilities. There will also be new buses, bus engines and spare parts imported or locally built on a regular basis.

Very appropriately Minister Alahapperuma has called for suggestions for the overall improvement of the national transport system or upgrading the services of the Sri Lanka Railways, the SLTB, Motor Traffic Department, Lanka–German Technical Training College, private bus operation, taxi (three wheeler) service, private vehicles, non-motor vehicles, transport fare, transport administration and laws. This gives an opportunity for the concerned persons and organizations to participate in this task of formulating the new NTP.

There are endless complaints against the private sector bus services as well as the services offered by the SLTB. As the services offered by these organizations have a direct impact on the public, the people are sensitive to their shortcomings. Numerous complaints against the manner in which the private bus crews conduct their operations need to be considered and quickly remedied.

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