6 December 2020 02:08 pm
While implementing the ‘Park & Ride' system, the Transport Ministry is to introduce the ‘E-ticketing' system for buses from January 1, Transport State Minister Dilum Amunugama said.
Addressing the media in an event in Kandy he said the first service of the Park & Ride system would be launched from the Makumbura Multimodal Transport Centre (MTC).
“The Park & Ride system is a method which implements for people do their day-to-day activities without driving their vehicles to the Colombo City, ” he said.
“The people who arrive in the Colombo city by their vehicles can use the allocated parking areas to their vehicles. Then they can use this air-conditioned luxury bus service to reach the town and return to their parking place after completing their duties,” the State Minister said.
This system is designed to run a city-bus every 15 minutes, he said.
“One row of seats on each of these buses we’re removed to have more space. Those buses have been applied with chemical paint which is resistant to COVID-19 virus. If the virus falls on the surface in the buses, the virus will be destroyed. Also, these buses have wifi facilities and GPS tracking facilities. A mobile application has been launched to locate the next bus arrival on the system,” Minister Amunugama said.
“The Ministry had also decided to introduce E-ticketing system, so there is no need for using currency bills on the buses,” he said. “The IGP also informed to arrest crew members of buses transporting passengers in addition to the seat lines under the Covid bus fare revision and to take legal action against them,” the State Minister added. (Chaturanga Samarawickrama)