Long distance buses on strike for second day

COLOMBO (News 1st) - The National Transport Commission (NTC) says steps will be taken to cancel the route permits of the the Matara - Colombo Bus Operators who are on strike. Chairman of the NTC M.A.P.Hemachandra has called on the bus operators to ensure they continue operations without causing an inconvenience to the public. The strike action launched by the Matara - Colombo Bus Operations continued for a second day today. Our correspondents said that bus operators who operate from Matara, Galle and Ambalangoda towards Colombo have joined in this strike. The strike action was launched in protest against the decision to restrict long distance buses from picking up passengers from non-assigned bus stops. The short distance bus operators carried out a similar strike recently against the long distance buses picking up passengers from all bus stops. Chairman of the Lanka Private Bus Owners Association says this is an issue faced by both long distance and short distance bus operators. However, the NTC says they have instructed the relevant divisions to take action against individuals who launch attacks on Bus employees.