New Metro buses to enter service soon; Jaffna and Kandy by year-end
Transport Minister Bimal Rathnayake says a new fleet of Metro buses will be deployed in the coming weeks, with plans underway to extend the service to Jaffna and Kandy by the end of the year.
The Minister said a total of 121 Metro buses have now been secured from China and several other countries, and are currently undergoing registration and other legal formalities before being placed into service.
”We expect to deploy these buses for public use by the end of August after completing the necessary legal and registration procedures,” Rathnayake said.
He noted that Metro Bus has already identified several new routes, which are expected to be announced in the coming days.
Rathnayake further revealed that an additional 50 buses from Japan are expected before the end of the year, enabling the expansion of Metro services beyond Colombo.
”By the end of this year, we hope to launch Metro Bus services in Jaffna and Kandy as well. For that, Metro depots will have to be established in both districts,” he said.
According to the Minister, the Government’s long-term objective is to encourage more commuters to shift from private vehicles to public transport, helping reduce traffic congestion, fuel consumption and environmental pollution.
He added that future Metro buses will feature passenger information in Sinhala, Tamil and English, while the Government aims to expand the Metro fleet to more than 500 buses by 2030. (Newswire)
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