Paradise Road

Dec 08, 2010 (LBO) - Sri Lanka is considering having "concessionary" bus fares at peak hours to help "private and public workers" one of the country's transport ministers have told parliament, a media report said The minister for 'private transport services' C B Ratnayake was quoted as saying in the Daily Mirror newspaper that a concessionary could come into effect from 6.00 am to 8.00 am and also in the evening rush hour.

It would be "appropriate to introduce this both in the morning and in the evening during the hours during which the employees of public and private establishments come to their respective workplaces and return home," the report quoted the minister as saying.

Sri Lanka also has another minister for overall transport.

Sri Lanka has nearly a 100 ministers of various kinds.

In countries with well functioning public transport systems peak rates are the higher. Lower off-peak rate are given to encourage people to travel and use idle infrastructure during that time.

Usually night rates are higher to encourage operators to keep buses running despite low traffic.

In Sri Lanka there is a flat rate for public transport and buses stop running at night and people have to pa