By Dilanthi Jayamanne
Provincial councils will deal with reckless bus drivers in future by prohibiting them to drive within the provincial council area, Transport Minister for Western Provincial Council, Lasantha Alagiyawanna said on Thursday. The minister was addressing a meeting of provincial councils’ transport ministers, chairpersons of provincial councils and other stake-holders to discuss the different methods observed in each provincial council regarding private bus services.

"Each provincial council observes their own rules and regulations regarding private bus services. Our aim is to discuss the irregularities with all stake-holders in the provincial councils and arrive at a decision which would be discussed with the central government within another two weeks," Alagiyawanna said.

Alagiyawanna pointed out the responsibility of the provincial council and the National Transport Commission (NTC) to ensure that commuters receive the best of services. "The reason for the irregularities lie with the provincial councils, the central government and private bus owners," he said.

Transport Minister for Wayamba Provincial Council, M. H. Nawawi pointed out the problems that the PC were faced with when dealing with private bus services. "They do not have any time tables to go by and, the bus halts are not planned,’’ he said. According to Nawawi, the central government, and the provincial councils were both involved in denoting bus halts. "There should be one party which involves itself and denotes the bus halt," he stressed.

Transport Minister of the Southern Provincial Council (SPC), Gunaratna Weerakoon said that the mutual responsibility towards the commuters lay in the hands of the private bus operators, the central government, the provincial councils and the NTC. "That is the only way to deal with unfortunate accidents and other problems which crop up regarding private bus services.

The agenda of the meeting included a consensus of rules and regulations to be adhered to regarding private bus services to suit the present, inter provincial bus services and the critical atmosphere between the peopelised bus service and the private bus service.