President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that the whole transport system should bear a fast transformation to ascertain a extra environment friendly, protected and technologically superior transport system, thereby offering the general public with a dignified and dependable service.
The President conveyed this throughout a gathering held yesterday morning (Feb. 12) on the Presidential Secretariat with officers from the Ministry of Transport, Highways and City Growth.
The President was briefed on the strategic plan ready by the Ministry of Transport beneath 5 key pillars, financial competitiveness, environmental sustainability, digital transformation, social fairness and accessibility and security and safety geared toward revitalising the transport sector.
It was famous that, as an answer to the present extreme visitors congestion in Colombo, the federal government plans to introduce the Lanka Metro Transit bus service. Beneath this mission, the mandatory infrastructure is at the moment being developed and the buses are anticipated to be delivered to the nation by August this yr.
It was famous that the mission is deliberate to be carried out as a pilot initiative alongside six essential roads surrounding Colombo, with the programme initially ranging from the Western Province and later extending to the Galle and Kandy districts. Over the following three years, it’s anticipated to develop to cowl eight main cities.
The pilot mission is meant to cut back the variety of personal automobiles coming into Colombo each day and encourage the general public to shift in direction of utilizing public transport. The President emphasised that figuring out devoted bus precedence lanes and sustaining their effectivity is important to the success of the initiative.
The President highlighted that, to supply the general public with high quality companies, the fragmented current bus companies must be changed with a system of transport corporations working beneath a cluster mannequin. The President emphasised that “What people search is the supply of high quality transportation companies; the style during which these companies are delivered is of minimal curiosity to them.”
The President additional famous that Sri Lanka doesn’t have cities that have been deliberate systematically from the outset, however relatively cities that developed over time. Due to this fact, transport administration throughout the current city framework have to be dealt with with nice care. He noticed that implementing the bus cluster system represents the simplest answer to this problem.
Beneath this technique, an organization can be established to deploy buses and the President indicated that, ought to any points relating to profitability come up, the federal government would have the capability to supply help to the corporate. President Dissanayake additional mentioned that the significance of formal agreements each between the bus homeowners and the corporate and between the federal government and the bus firm, to make sure uninterrupted service. The President additional famous that this strategy can be much more sensible than incurring the substantial prices of procuring new buses.
The President additionally highlighted the importance of designing Multi-modal Transport Hubs (MTH) across the railway community, integrating different modes of transport in a coordinated method. Discussions have been held relating to the modernisation of the Kelani Valley Railway line and plans to introduce an digital system for the expressway community.
The President additionally positioned particular emphasis on the welfare of staff engaged within the transport sector. He confused that service circumstances must be structured to make sure that staff obtain due respect and that their future safety is safeguarded. Particularly, he highlighted the significance of offering formal appointment letters and guaranteeing systematic welfare companies, particularly for staff within the personal sector.
Consideration was additionally drawn to the present state of affairs relating to the on-site advantageous system and the demerit level system. Though driver licences have been issued with embedded chips over the previous ten years, no technological software program system had been developed to implement a correct demerit level mechanism, rendering the system largely ineffective. It was famous that the introduction of Gov.pay now gives the potential to rectify this technique and a completely operational mechanism could possibly be established inside six to seven months.
A regulatory framework has been developed for three-wheeled automobiles, taxis and faculty vans, which is anticipated to be introduced after consultations with all related stakeholders.
Consideration was additionally drawn to points arising with the ‘Sisu Sariya’ bus service. It was famous that the federal government allotted LKR 2,200 million for the programme in 2025, of which LKR 500 million remained unutilised. Discussions centered on methods to boost the effectivity of the ‘Sisu Sariya’ programme and to develop it in a way that delivers direct advantages to college students.
The institution of a Nationwide Centre for Transport Analysis and Growth, bringing collectively all establishments throughout the transport sector beneath a single platform, was additionally mentioned.
The assembly was attended by Minister of Transport, Highways and City Growth, Bimal Rathnayake, Deputy Minister of Transport and Highways, Prasanna Gunasena, Secretary to the Ministry of Transport, Highways and City Growth Senior Professor Kapila Perera, senior officers of the Ministry and heads and senior officers from establishments beneath the Ministry, together with the Sri Lanka Railways Division, the Division of Motor Site visitors, the Nationwide Transport Fee and the Sri Lanka Transport Board.
(President’s Media Division)
