55 SLTB depots operating at a loss, says Transport Minister

A total of 55 Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) depots are operating at a loss, at present, Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports, and Civil Aviation Bimal Rathnayake stated in Parliament.

Speaking in Parliament today (08), Minister Rathnayake mentioned that only 54 SLTB depots are generating profits through operations.

The Minister Rathnayake explained that several new measures have been introduced for the 55 loss-making depots. These measures include replacing ineffective managers with capable ones, revising bus schedules, increasing the number of bus trips, reducing fraudulent activities by educating passengers, revising staff salaries to motivate employees, organizing training workshops for workers, setting daily targets for each depot, improving fuel management in buses, regularly inspecting the quality of supplies, providing clear guidelines to control depot expenses, reviewing monthly financial accounts to plan future actions, and exploring additional income-generating activities at depots.

The Minister further stated that the SLTB consists of 7,137 buses, but only 5,182 of them are currently in operation. Accordingly, 1,955 SLTB-owned buses are not in service at present. 

He also mentioned that the SLTB employs a total of 25,384 persons at present.