A gazette notification making seat belts compulsory for passengers on expressway buses will be issued on 31 August, Transport Minister and Leader of the House Bimal Rathnayake has announced. The move is part of the government’s “Clean Sri Lanka” initiative.
Speaking at a recent Ministerial Consultative Committee meeting in Parliament, Rathnayake said a grace period of around three months would be allowed for school buses, office transport, leisure tour buses, and other expressway passenger services. He highlighted that seat belt prices, which previously averaged Rs. 2,000 had risen to Rs. 5,000–7,000, urging the Consumer Affairs Authority to monitor costs.
The Minister noted that a public survey conducted by Citra Innovation Lab, covering 2,100 passengers, drivers, and bus owners, showed widespread support for mandatory use of seat belts, with plans to extend the regulation to long-distance buses in the near future.
Rathnayake added that new regulations would also inspect and rate vehicle spare parts before expressway entry, and vehicles with substandard tires would be barred from expressways.
In addition, arrangements have been finalised to establish a welfare fund for private transport drivers, including three-wheelers and vans, with a draft bill set to be presented to Parliament. The committee further discussed mechanisms for parking long-distance and expressway buses, while two sub-committees were appointed to propose railway service upgrades and port infrastructure improvements.
Preparatory works for the Kadawatha–Meerigama expressway, scheduled to commence in September, were also reviewed, with MPs’ recommendations taken into account.Several MPs and government officials attended the committee meeting.