Western Province Road Passenger Transport Authority Chairman Amila Ranmandala today said the Authority would not allow a bus fare hike from September 1 as announced by the Lanka Private Bus Owners Association earlier today.

“If the rates are going to be increased, that has to be done in a manner stipulated by the government and revisions should be done considering the commuters’s point of view,” he said.

He said the decisions such as increasing bus fares could not be done according to the whims and fancies of private bus associations. He said if they went ahead with the bus fare hike arbitrarily, action would be taken to cancel their route permits.

He revealed that several investigations carried out by the Authority had revealed that Employees Provident Fund (EPF) for bus employees had not been paid by bus owners for the past few years.

The authority had also found that some 262 private buses were in a bad condition and not suitable for passenger transportation. These bus owners have been warned and given an ultimatum to repair them. (Chaturanga Pradeep-DM Online)