Cabinet approves 200 electric buses for Western Province

Cabinet Spokesman and Transport, Highways and Mass Media Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardhana said that the Cabinet approved the acquisition of 200 buses for the pilot project of running electric buses in the Western Province.

The Minister said that earlier the Cabinet approved only 50 buses to be run on electricity and the Cabinet decided to increase the number to 200 and the Cabinet paper submitted by him as the Transport Minister was approved. The Minister stated this yesterday (29) while participating in the press conference on the Cabinet decisions, held at the Government Information Department.

The Minister said that a feasibility study was carried out for a year in consultation with academics regarding the operation of electric buses in Sri Lanka and that this project will be carried out in collaboration with international companies as a joint venture of the Sri Lanka Transport Board.

The Minister stated that when the number of electric buses decreases, the amount spent on charging points increases and by deploying at least 200 buses, the amount spent on charging points will be reasonable.

The Minister also said when 200 electric buses are added to the Western Province, 200 buses that are currently running will be deployed in other areas.

Sri Lanka Transport Board Chairman L.K.D. Alwis said that this programme will be implemented as a private–public partnership and the investors have to import buses and build charging points at their expense. He said that board will make payments per kilometers. Alwis added that the Board will provide lands for the charging points , maintenance centres and parking.

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