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| Sunday, 26 September 2004 |
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Wildcat bus strike : Commuters stranded by Anton Nonis Lanka Private Bus Owners Association (LPBOA) staged a lightning strike yesterday morning, following the diesel price hike from Friday mid-night. LPBOA President, Gemunu Wijeratne told the `Sunday Observer' that they had grounded over 1000 buses operating on 50 different routes in Colombo and the suburbs. He warned that the strike action would be extended islandwide from September 29, if the authorities do not take steps to compensate them adequately on the increased fuel costs. Wijeratne said they had lost faith in the National Transport Commission (NTC) which is the governing body for bus fare increases in the country. "The NTC had not kept to the policies and we do not think we have to wait any longer when taking decisions," Wijeratne said. He hinted that the authorities must allow for an increase of the first section upto Rs. five. Anything less will not be considered. The bus owners have said that most of the buses refill their tanks in Colombo and not outside. This is due to the fact that almost all runs tend to terminate in Colombo. When the buses grounded to a halt, there was a panic situation on the highways. Those who had come to Colombo on various businesses, did not know what to do to get back home. Most of the roads were deserted except for motorcycles, cars and some lorries. People who had sufficient money with them hired trishaws to return to their destinations. Asked, whether there would be a strike on September 29 as suggested by the LPBOA if the government gave a hearing to their claim to increase the first section by Rs. five, Wijeratne said, "then we will cancel the strike." When asked why the LPBOA took the people unawares by staging this kind of strike, Wijeratne said the government was responsible. The price of Diesel was increased by the government overnight. With the sudden strike action of the private buses, the buses of the SLCTB continued their normal services. However, they were insufficient to cope with the large numbers who were standing for transportation. Besides this, the railway too operated its usual services. And, it was seen that even the trains were unusually packed with commuters |
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