An investigation ordered by the Minister of Transport, Highways and Mass Media, Dr. Bandula Gunawardene has revealed that the income on the Southern Expressway has dropped and there are thefts again, despite the daily income of CTB buses increasing to over Rs.500,000 after the buses on the Southern Expressway started running without conductors.
After this situation was reported, a bus running on the Southern Expressway from Embilipitiya to Makumbura was promptly checked. At that time, 17 of the 24 tickets issued at the departure point were found to be fake.
The bus fare was Rs. 1,035 and the amount stolen during that journey alone was Rs.17,770, Dr. Gunawardena said.
The Minister said that soon after the fraud was discovered, he ordered the CTB Chairman to suspend the bus driver and hand over the investigations to the Criminal Investigation Department.
The Minister said that the Criminal Investigation Department has commenced investigations regarding the income of all CTB buses running on the Southern Expressway.