Transport State Minister Dilum Amunugama said that legal action will be taken against bus owners who charge more than the fares set by the Government.
“The route licenses of five such buses have already been suspended,” he said.
He said that a number of complaints had been received from passengers that they are being charged more than the stipulated amount as bus fares and that they are not being issued tickets.
He was speaking to the media after receiving blessings from the Mosr Ven. Mahanayake Theras of the Malwathu and Asgiriya Chapters on Saturday.
Amunugama said that the Transport Commission has deployed a separate team to raid the buses which charge extra and do not issue tickets and he requested the passengers to lodge complaints in this regard.
The State Minister said that a system has been introduced to charge a fee for each route and that it is the responsibility of the conductor to issue tickets to passengers as not issuing tickets is a serious offence.
If there were any allegations of overcharging or non-issuance of tickets, he requested the public not to remain silent and to call the 119 Police Emergency Hotline or the National Transport Commission (NTC) on 1995 immediately.
“In addition, the NTC has introduced an app called ‘Bad Bus’, which allows passengers to lodge complaints,” the Minister said.
He also said that if the passengers send the registration number(s) of any such bus(es) and the route(s), the NTC will take action without delay.