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Peak hour bus fares

7 December 2010 01:00 pm - 33     - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

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Concessionary bus fares will be introduced during the peak hours on public transport in the future, Minister for Private Transport Services, C B Rathnayake told parliament a short while ago.


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  Comments - 33

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  • TMA Wednesday, 08 December 2010 05:15 AM

    What the private buses will do is waste time o purpose until the peak hour arrives.

    Knight Rider Wednesday, 08 December 2010 03:17 AM

    obviously this will increase the buses during peak hours causing more chaos and traffic, and we will not see single bus during off peak knowing greed of these service providers.
    I suggest all buses are restricted to a maximum number of passengers they carry thats 2% more than the seating capacity this will improve the service and be of convenience to commuters.

    LJaya Wednesday, 08 December 2010 03:59 AM

    I have not heard this type of policy being implemented in other parts of the world. Usually to distribute traffic evenly across the time span, without further congestion during the peak hours, concessionary tickets are issues only during off peak hours.

    This policy will make peak hour more congested. Like to know rationale behind this change.

    AZ Wednesday, 08 December 2010 04:12 AM

    So the peak / off peak times are decided at the time the passenger gets in to the bus or gets off the bus??????

    dude Wednesday, 08 December 2010 04:21 AM

    Before introducing such new measures, can the authorities make bus timetables available to public, on a website perhaps? After that they can decide to have peak and off peak hours of travel just like in the west countries!

    Passenger Wednesday, 08 December 2010 04:24 AM

    It is good if the prices are reduced. But it should be done with due consideration eg. for a Rs. 9/- ticket if you give Rs. 10/- you do not get the Rs. 1/- balance and more often than not we do not even get a ticket. The buses should also have one door to enter and the door near the driver to get down. To get more passengers they load people from both sides and keep telling the passengers to go in front. Finally, when you want to get off, you have to push people, trample their toes to get to the door.

    citizen1 Wednesday, 08 December 2010 04:24 AM

    Did you consider the possibiity that others may travel during peak hours to save a buck or two, thereby creating greater discomfort to those already traveling sardine-style?

    kassa Wednesday, 08 December 2010 04:47 AM

    However, this will be another bus fair hike.

    Thushad Wednesday, 08 December 2010 04:49 AM

    I think this is not to reduce prices on peak. This may a plan to increase prices in offpeak such as night.

    Dhanushka Wednesday, 08 December 2010 02:46 AM

    People go works in off peak ...it means nights ,,,,superb theory

    sam Wednesday, 08 December 2010 05:23 AM

    Very easy to say when you are inside the bus. But when you are waiting to go to work or back home, not so nice if you can't get in.

    Common Man Wednesday, 08 December 2010 07:14 AM

    Need to improve a lot in Public Transport sector. First, educate the Drivers & Conductors” how to talk” to passengers..

    TMA Wednesday, 08 December 2010 10:28 AM

    I appreciate ur comment Mr. Common Man. But we live in Sri Lanka ppl cannot B educated

    Cobra Wednesday, 08 December 2010 12:02 PM

    He put his foot in his mouth,that's what happened!!!

    perumal Wednesday, 08 December 2010 02:06 PM

    Concessionary to whom? Bus owner or passenger?

    indike Wednesday, 08 December 2010 02:49 PM

    Just another chance for the bus mafia to charge high prices as and when they want. ridiculous.

    dpl Wednesday, 08 December 2010 05:35 PM

    people can go early to work place and avoied the peak hours or pay more money. in peak time.

    AF Tuesday, 07 December 2010 01:11 PM

    Sri Lankan style. In other countries they have lower fares during off peak hours to reduce congestion.

    hk Wednesday, 08 December 2010 01:52 AM

    Concessionary rates should NOT be introduced during the peak hours, they should be intrroduced during off-peak hours as AF has mentioned above to reduce the peak hour rush. That is how they are done in the western countries.
    Hope the minister studies how they are done in other countries and how successful &/not they are, before he just offers concessions to increase his own popularity.
    He should use the bus service himself to understand the difficulties the common commuters are facing.

    Push Wednesday, 08 December 2010 12:06 AM

    They have no idea of what they are doing. In order to encourage commuters to travel during off peak hours they should introduce reduced fares during off peak hours.

    Fair N Square Tuesday, 07 December 2010 10:56 PM

    cant agree more. Well said

    Sena2 Tuesday, 07 December 2010 06:44 PM

    Passengers who travel during peak hours are subject to great suffering and inconvenience. This arises from the fact that buses are usually jam-packed with travellers. There is no sensible restriction on the number of people taken in. Due to the servere conjestion inside the buses, passengers find it very difficult even to move and get off at their destinations. There is no doubt that operators are enjoying super profits during peak hours. In this context, the Minister's proposed action makes sense and ought to be commended. Let the reduction in fares be considered as some form of compensation provided to the travelling public for the inconvenience they have to contend with during peak hours.

    Housni Tuesday, 07 December 2010 05:46 PM

    Will the excess you earn be invested in driving classes for the bus drivers?

    abc Tuesday, 07 December 2010 04:58 PM

    C B Rathnayake was doing good as sports minister what happened ????????

    rif Tuesday, 07 December 2010 04:28 PM

    so, people can go to the work off peak hours? good idea for a developing country keep it up

    We pepole Tuesday, 07 December 2010 03:37 PM

    This will let bus owners to fight for the off peak journeys. In other countries mostly there is only one bus service for a
    one county which mitigate such.

    zorro Tuesday, 07 December 2010 03:22 PM

    I agree with you 100%

    GM Tuesday, 07 December 2010 03:21 PM

    Now who's going to decide which clock in the bus works correct?

    sam Tuesday, 07 December 2010 02:18 PM

    Exactly. Less money could even force existing operators out of business and discourage new investors. Pray he at least thought of that.

    ddddd Tuesday, 07 December 2010 02:17 PM

    Its not like telecommunication. People have to travel whenever they want. To keep buses running at night, there has to be a sufficient revenue. In many other countries off-peak bus fares are high.

    Hamzie Tuesday, 07 December 2010 01:53 PM

    What needs to be done in the first place is to bring adequate buses on the road and do the proper infrastructure. Your effort will be in vain, if there are no buses on the road in peak time.

    Having too many buses on the road also a major issue, as our roads aren't good enough to have a smooth traffic flow.

    We admire and appreciate your effort. But to be productive you need to consider a collective effort and work in tandem with road development authority and your ministry.

    Work out a long term plan with a vision, so the entire country will get benefited.

    lankaputha Tuesday, 07 December 2010 01:17 PM

    another joke. Even now, bus mafia charge different rates for the same distance. This is in other words, increasing the fare to entertain the bus mafia.

    I Hussein Tuesday, 07 December 2010 01:12 PM

    Only Man in the cabinet who talks sence.


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