Low-floor bus fleet launched

A new low-floor bus service that gives priority to persons with disabilities and special needs was launched yesterday (21) from the Makumbura Multimodal Centre. The service was inaugurated under the patronage of Transport, Highways and Urban Development Minister, Bimal Rathnayake. 

Accordingly, 10 specially designed low-floor buses were introduced into the transport service yesterday. These buses are specially designed so that wheelchair users, visually impaired passengers and also expectant women can board the bus with ease. Each bus has 30 passenger seats and separate seating areas have been allocated for passengers using wheelchairs. The pilot project operates on routes from Makumbura to Colombo Fort and from Makumbura to Kadawatha. These routes also cover major Hospitals including the Colombo National Hospital and the Maharagama Apeksha Hospital/National Cancer Institute.

Speaking at the event, Rathnayake stated that while these buses prioritise the differently-abled community, they will also provide a comfortable and reliable transport service for all passengers. He also noted that 122 low-floor buses are planned to be introduced into the service before the end of this year, and that in the future, the service will be expanded to areas such as Kandy, Batticaloa, Matara and Jaffna.

Meanwhile, the Transport Ministry stated that more than Rs. 536 million was earned from operators of vehicles using expressways during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year period from 10 April to Monday (20). During the period, a total of 1,431,319 vehicles used the expressways. The revenue was generated from vehicles travelling on the Southern Expressway, the Colombo Outer Circular Expressway, the Colombo–Katunayake Expressway and the Central Expressway.

Source - The Morning