Our public transport - a shameful story!

For most Sri Lankans, getting from home to work is not just part of the day, it is a daily battle. Every morning, buses and trains are packed to the brim, people hang from doors, and tempers flare as commuters push their way through a system that seems to have forgotten who it’s meant to serve.

It’s not just about inconvenience. Public transport in Sri Lanka is broken and the truth is we have known it for years. The buses are old, the trains are slow, and there’s no sign of a plan that truly puts passengers first.

The Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) still runs buses that look and sound like they belong in another century. Many of them rattle their way through routes with broken seats, weak engines, and no comfort whatsoever. Private buses, which are supposed to fill the gap, often make things worse. We have all seen how they drive, racing each other like maniacs to collect passengers, cutting across lanes, ignoring traffic rules, and sometimes treating passengers like cargo.

I myself have already lost a friend in recent years to a terrible bus accident,  while my life was spared by a whisker on two occasions as the bus driver considered me to be a ghost than a human being,  and almost ran me over. 

For daily commuters, it’s a constant struggle to stand in long queues, endure reckless drivers, and arrive late. Students have to fight their way into buses before exams. Office workers arrive at work already drained. And yet, the situation barely improves year after year.

The train service, once considered our pride, tells the same story. Anyone who takes a morning train to Colombo knows the feeling, squeezed shoulder-to-shoulder in carriages amidst sweat and stress. Trains are delayed regularly, announcements are unclear, and new projects seem to take decades to materialise. Electrification, modernisation, or digital ticketing -- all these have been “under discussion” for so long that it feels like a running joke.

This isn’t just about discomfort. It is about lost time, lost money, and lost trust. Poor transport does not only affect individuals, it slows down the whole economy. Think of the hours wasted in traffic or the productivity lost when workers arrive late and exhausted. Colombo’s streets are now jammed with private vehicles, not because everyone wants to drive, but because people have given up on buses and trains. Owning a motorcycle or car has become a matter of survival rather than luxury.

For decades, governments have treated transport as a political talking point rather than a national priority. New buses get rolled out just before elections, but long-term reforms never happen. The SLTB is filled with political appointees instead of professionals who actually understand transport planning. And while cities in our region like Bangalore, Dhaka, or Kuala Lumpur have embraced metro systems, we are still arguing about basic repairs.

If Sri Lanka truly wants to move forward, we need to start treating public transport as a service to the people and not as a burden or a photo opportunity. The first step is to create a single, coordinated transport system. Buses, trains, and three-wheelers must work together under one efficient network with common schedules, tickets, and standards. Right now, each operates in its own little world, leaving passengers to figure things out on their own.

Next, we need to embrace technology. It’s 2025 and there is no excuse for not having real time tracking for buses and trains. People should be able to check when the next bus is coming or buy a ticket online without standing in line. These are not luxuries any more, they are basic tools for a functioning system.

The private sector can also play a positive role if it is properly regulated. Public-private partnerships could bring in cleaner buses, electric fleets, and professional management. But these must be carefully supervised to prevent the chaos we see today with unregulated private operators. Urban planning, too, must go hand in hand with transport reform. We keep building new housing projects, offices, and schools without thinking about how people will actually get there. No development plan should be approved without a proper transport link in place.

And perhaps most importantly, we need discipline and respect from both sides. Bus drivers must stop treating roads like racetracks. Passengers, too, must respect rules and each other. A functional transport system depends as much on good behaviour as it does on good policy. Public transport is not just about vehicles. It is about people. It is about helping a child reach school safely, a nurse get to her hospital shift on time, or a worker return home before dark. When a country cannot move its people efficiently and safely, it cannot move forward as a nation.

Fixing this system won’t be easy, but it is possible. Look at how countries that once struggled, like Vietnam or Indonesia, are transforming their transport networks with clear planning and leadership. If they can do it, so can we.

What Sri Lanka needs now is not another patch-up or another promise but a genuine, people-centred   plan. Because our citizens deserve better than hanging from bus doors and waiting endlessly at railway stations. We deserve a transport system that moves with us, not against us.