Expressing his views in this regard, the chairman of the Inter-Provincial Private Bus Owners Association, Sarath Vijitha Kumara, said that inter-provincial buses will also withdraw from bus operations tomorrow.
Issuing a statement, National Transport Commission Director General Dr. Nilan Miranda stated that the approval of the Cabinet is scheduled to be obtained tomorrow (23) to implement the new bus fare increase.
He said that the current bus fare that is in effect is the one announced on July 04 last year, and that when calculating it, the price of a liter of Lanka White Diesel was Rs. 289 that month.
However, with the increase in fuel prices yesterday, the price of a liter of diesel has increased from Rs. 303 to Rs. 382, an increase of Rs. 79, he points out. The Director General points out that the total increase in the price of Sri Lanka White Diesel during this period is Rs. 93.
Accordingly, when the increase in price is adjusted to the bus fare determination formula, the existing bus fare is more than 10% higher. This has led to an increase in bus fares and as a result, the matter has been referred to the Cabinet meeting scheduled to be held tomorrow to obtain approval to implement the new bus fare increase, the statement issued by the Director General of the National Transport Commission, Dr. Nilan Miranda, further stated.