City Liner Service steps out

New plan to combat congestion

The Park and Ride (P&R) system of developed countries will be introduced to Sri Lanka tomorrow, with the first park being opened on Galle road in Katubedda.

This new scheme is being operated with the combined efforts of the Transport Ministry and the National Transport Commission (NTC), to lessen the traffic congestion on Colombo streets that have long been a headache to thousands of people who chug to the city limits of Colombo on a daily basis. Traffic jams, especially at office hours, are the bane of many people’s existence, and this new policy is tailor-made to answer most of those gripes. Drivers can leave their cars parked at the Katubedda Park, which is built to contain 150 vehicles, and take a luxury coach to their office. Not having to pay parking charges is an added advantage. The coaches will leave every half an hour and will operate from 6.30am-8.30am and again from 4.30pm-7.30pm, thus meeting the stressful hours of exhausted office workers.

Called the ‘City Liner Coach Service’ the vehicles will run from Moratuwa through Nawam Mawatha up to Fort and drop off commuters almost at the doorstep of their glass covered monolith offices. It is also possible to catch the bus at mid-point on the route and save many parking and security hazards.

According to NTC Chairman Dr. A. Kumarage, passengers must purchase tickets to travel in the busses, which are issued at the start of the journey and cannot be bought mid-way. Even though this might put an added pressure on one’s wallet or purse, each passenger is allocated a seat and the price is parallel to the fuel consumption of private vehicles.

Therefore the passenger neither gains nor loses in monetary terms. The precise timetable also means that the commuter can choose the most convenient time of travel, and ensure that less time is wasted on the road. The service though scheduled for half hourly slots, can be changed depending on the number of people, and fast tracked to leave the depot every ten minutes. Excuses for being late to work will become a thing of the past.

“With this service we hope to not only reduce traffic congestion, but also save people money that is spent on parking and fuel. The operation of the coaches has been handed over to a private company, so good service will be assured. We will encourage all people to use this service, but it is especially targeted at the office workers who drive to their places of work everyday. This will be very beneficial to them and to other people who use the roads, because that would mean less traffic congestion during crucial hours of the day,” he said.