Buses get three month grace period to remove unapproved parts
Bus owners were given a three months to remove unapproved decorative parts and accessories from buses and to adhere to the ‘Clean Sri Lanka’ traffic operations.
They requested for three months instead of the two weeks grace period that was given by the Police to remove the unauthorised accessories from the buses which they said was not sufficient.
Police Media Spokesperson SSP Buddhika Manathunga said Police decided to grant this time at a discussion held between representatives of some of the private bus owners’ associations and Acting IGP Priyantha Weerasuriya at the Police Headquarters yesterday.
The countrywide strike action that was to be launched from midnight yesterday (8) by the private bus associations against the ongoing Police traffic operations has been called off after successful discussions held with the Acting IGP Priyantha Weerasuriya yesterday.
The discussion was made on the difficulties faced by the owners and employees of buses these days due to the ongoing Police traffic operations.
The Acting IGP has informed the private bus owners present that the road discipline of a country is a standard measurement used to understand the status of the country and that using the existing laws, the country’s road discipline programme has been established and these traffic operations are carried out accordingly without any political interference.
The Acting IGP has further said that due to these ongoing traffic operations, daily occurrences of road accidents of buses have been reduced to around four or five while other vehicle accidents have also dropped significantly.
The Acting IGP has also informed the private bus owners that these unauthorised decorative accessories fixed on buses compromising safety of passengers must be removed within the three months grace period, otherwise the Police will implement strict laws against them. He further said that the Police operations that have been initiated to find faults in buses that could lead to accidents and removal of unwanted decorative accessories which could result in causing accidents will not be stopped even during the three month grace period in order to ensure safety of passengers are not compromised.
The Acting IGP has further stated that extra accessories fitted in that will not lead to cause any type of accidents should be enlisted in the bus owner’s vehicle registration book or else they must be removed during the three month period given to adhere according to the law.
In response to the private bus owner associations’ request to limit as much as possible the operations carried out by Police personnel dressed in civvies getting into the buses and checking on offences of bus drivers and fining them, the Acting IGP said that this operation will continue while ensuring that the public will not be inconvenienced in any way as a result.
The heads of the National Transport Commission, provincial transport authorities and heads of private bus workers’ unions participated in this discussion.
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