Agony Without Ecstasy On The Long-Distance Buses

 Sunday, September 02, 2012

Nearly all the buses appear to be operated with a passenger unfriendly ‘Fleece them’ motive

 Colombo-Jaffna Express Buses Are Veritable Death Traps
Plying between Colombo and Jaffna every night each way are about 50 buses and many more during the weekends. Nearly all of them, it appears, are operated with a passenger unfriendly ‘Fleece them’ motive. There have been some horrendous accidents already, yet the public have not reacted. This is no que sera sera business; it is a matter of life and death.
Some buses, but too few to canvas favourable consideration, have plus points The bus operators call them AC Luxury, Non-AC Semi-luxury and Ordinary. And none have toilets on board and neither are there any along the way except for a badly maintained one at the temple stop at Murugandy.  You pay Rs. 10 for its use; a few weeks ago it was Rs. 5 and the chaps working there can be quite insulting.