The government has embarked on a course of action which smacks of an attempt to put Humpty-Dumpty together. It has decided to revive the good old CTB, after rfailing to resuscitate the ailing cluster bus companies. The wheel of experiments has turned a full circle and the state bus service is back to square one!

However, this must be good news for the public who are battered and fleeced by the private bus operators, who have risen above the law.

The state run bus service has undergone several nomenclatural changes during the past few decades and withstood ravages of government change and allied policy u-turns. It stands as a monument to the colossal blunders committed by successive governments, which would have buried it alive and plundered the remaining assets but for the public outcry and the threat posed by the private buses running out of government control.

The CTB of yore was limping at the time the economy was ripped open in 1977 and unbridled competition was ushered in. Years of politicization had rendered it sick and feeble but protectionism as well as state funding kept it going. When the private buses roared in with their owners being either politicians themselves or enjoying political patronage, it could not compete. Political vultures, true to form, preyed on the ailing CTB fleet: buses in running condition went for a song at highly manipulated auctions while many others were condemned, pushed out of depots and driven away! Hundreds of buses that were removed from depots purportedly for scrap metal ended up in private bus mudalalis’ fleets after a mere coat of paint! Many of them are still plying on roads.

The CTB since the 1970s, has become a source of employment for the henchmen of the ruling party. When the UNP came under pressure from the international lenders to jettison it, the Premadasa government ‘peoplised’ it. The remedy did not have its efficacy. Later, it became a group of cluster bus companies. Yet they, too, continued to be a drain on state funds.

By setting up the CTB again, the present government is perhaps going to put the same old wine into a new, nay, the same old bottle once again.

If what the government is striving for is not a mere political gimmick but improving the state bus service, then apart from name board changes, there are a number of challenges before it.

Firstly, the canker of political interference with the recruitment and decision making processes should be removed forthwith and the present set of political appointees at the helm replaced with a team of professional managers not answerable to politicians.

The government is reported to have offered a golden handshake to get rid of excess workers. This scheme will come a cropper unless the recruitment is immediately frozen, however hard it may be for the transport minister to withstand pressure from politicians, to give jobs to their supporters, especially in the run up to a future election/referendum.

The existing work force is highly demoralised and resentful; most of them aren’t paid monthly as some depots are in the red. Motivating and energising them to take on the private sector is a gargantuan task that the government will have to accomplish first of all. Time was when CTB drivers used to pride themselves on being part of the CTB team and ranked among the best of their kind in the country. Despite their callousness and hubris, which usually precedes the downfall of any person or institution, they were efficient and punctual. The last bus in those days was dependable and buses operated till midnight. This spirit needs to be rekindled through incentives and charismatic leadership.

The investment that the government will have to incur is huge to augment the depleted fleet with new buses or through repairs. Given the large number of buses gathering rust overgrown with weeds in many depots, this task is daunting. The development of the central depots like Werahera that are in ruins is a prerequisite for maintaining the CTB fleet like in the good old days, when a breakdown resulted in immediate interdiction of those responsible for not maintaining the vehicle concerned and repairs were urgently effected and the bus was put back on the road, with the least possible delay.

Absence of a work ethic and rampant corruption are also factors that have turned the cluster bus companies into empty shells. Most drivers are allegedly in the pay of private bus operators and have therefore opted out of competition. How they allow private buses to overtake their empty buses at the toot of a horn and pick passengers and their sign language are clear proof that they are in bus mudalalis’ pockets. These elements need to be dealt with appropriately, while others are inspired to shun their government servant mentality and vie with the private sector if the new look CTB is to succeed.