Dr. Bandula Gunawardena, Minister of Transport, Highways and Mass Media, said that in the future, 200 electric buses with modern facilities are expected to run in the Western Province.
Under its first phase, before the upcoming Sinhala New Year, 50 buses will be put into operation, the minister said.
The Minister of Transport said this while replying to an oral question addressed by MP Niroshan Perera in Parliament today (05).
The Minister said that in the future, it will be mandatory for all buses imported by the private and public sector to be equipped with modern technical features such as CCTV camera systems, and for this, the necessary arrangements will be made together with the Department of Motor Transport.
Commenting further, the minister said that it is very difficult to direct government institutions to new technology and digitization.
He said that although the Sri Lanka Transport Board and the Railway Department have tried to introduce the e-ticketing system for public transport since 2017, it has not been implemented so far.
But he said that he hopes to implement this e-ticketing project within the next 06 months. It is expected to be introduced for public transport operated by the Sri Lanka Transport Board and the Railway Department.
