Governance Report 2011 - Transparency International Sri Lanka

The large number of actors in the regulatory structure has often led to
disagreements and confusion. It is said that “the different interpretation by
some provincial authorities of the powers devolved by the 13 th Amendment
to the Constitution has led to difficulties in enforcing regulatory regimes
across provinces such as the national policy on implementation of integrated
timetables, formation of management companies of private bus operators”. 31
It is typically a case of “too many cooks”.
It is important to note that at the national level, the NTC is aware of its
shortcomings and admits that as a regulator it is not at all satisfied with the
present quality of bus transportation. Senior officials of the NTC shared some
of the steps taken in recent years to address quality control issues.
The NTC has launched a ‘Quality Assurance Programme’ to “benchmark
quality of buses and to improve them periodically” 32 under which interprovincial
buses are physically checked on certain quality criteria. Eg: The
space between seats and whether the bus has the required specification
to operate as a public transportation provider. It also checks the quality of
the air-conditioning in A/C buses annually and whether the destination
boards are displayed properly. In recent years, private operators have been
provided electronic ticketing machines even though the practical use of
these machines remains debatable. The NTC also provides bus drivers and
conductors with capacity development before issuing them identity cards.
The NTC website (http://www.ntc.gov.lk/sub_pgs/operator.html) has more
information on the rules and regulations applicable to bus operators and the
required standard of service.
An important mechanism that has been introduced by the NTC to improve
the quality of service is the ‘public complaint mechanism’. Launched in
2005, any bus passenger can lodge a complaint with the NTC about the
behaviour, driving, overloading or any other wrong-doing of the bus
driver or the conductor. The NTC will carry out an investigation of all
completed complaints and promises to respond to the complaint within a
week. Punishments for those who are found guilty vary from warnings to
cancellation of their registration to training workshops that will help them to
rectify their mistakes. However, the NTC claims that the public is hesitant to
make complaints and is not adequately aware of the complaint mechanism in
spite of constant advertising on television and in newspapers.
31. Amal S. Kumarage, Review of Sri Lanka Transport Sector (2010) page 91
32. Amal S. Kumarage, Review of Sri Lanka Transport Sector (2010) page 72
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