Govt. approves purchase of 200 super luxury buses for expressway service

Colombo, June 25 (Daily Mirror) - The government has granted approval to purchase 200 new super luxury buses for expressway operations, Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said today.

Speaking at the weekly media briefing to announce Cabinet decisions, the Minister said the decision was taken in response to the insufficient number of buses currently available to meet growing passenger demand on the expressway routes.

At present, the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) operates 61 luxury buses provided by private operators under a profit-sharing arrangement. To strengthen its own fleet, the SLTB has now decided to directly purchase 200 new super luxury buses using its own funds.

Minister Jayatissa pointed out that there is an urgent need to upgrade the SLTB bus fleet, as nearly 52% of its regular buses and about 94% of its luxury buses have already exceeded their economic lifespan.

According to the proposal, financially capable SLTB depots will contribute to funding a portion of the new bus purchases, while the remaining buses will be acquired with an initial down payment from SLTB funds. The balance payments are to be settled in monthly instalments over a period of five years.