Sri Lanka school transport fares increase by 5%

School transport operators in Sri Lanka have decided to increase their fares by 5 percent starting today (March 10), following the recent rise in fuel prices.

The decision was announced by All Ceylon School Children Transport Association Chairman Lalith Chandrasiri Fernando during a media briefing.

Fernando said that although fuel prices had been revised several times in the past, school transport operators had not increased their charges at those times due to the situation in the country.

However, he stated that the recent increase of Rs. 22 in fuel prices has strongly affected the transport sector, forcing operators to raise their fares.

He also said that the decision to increase fares was taken after discussions with other transport associations and relevant officials.

According to Fernando, the revised charges come into effect from today.

Explaining the increase, he said that if a school child’s monthly transport fee is Rs. 10,000, it will now increase by Rs. 500 with the 5 percent adjustment.

“When we woke up, fuel prices had suddenly increased. As a transport association, we decided to increase fares by 5 percent. The Rs. 22 increase in fuel prices is strongly felt in the transport sector. Even though we do not like to do it, we had to make this decision,” Fernando said.

He added that the decision was reached after holding discussions with other associations and officials.