Currently, 06 buses have been identified to have transported COVID-19 infected patients on them, confirmed the Minister of Transport Gamini Lokuge at a press conference held on Wednesday (October 14).

According to the minister, the following buses has transported one COVID-19 patient on each:

Colombo-Medagama (ND 4890)
Makumbura-Galle (MD 2350)
Kadawatha-Ambalangoda (MG 0549)
Colombo-Jaffna (ND 6503)
Elpitiya-Colombo (ND 9788)
Galle-Kadawatha (NF 7515)

In addition, all the luxury and air-conditioned bus services are requested to check the temperature of its passengers before boarding the bus, Minister Lokuge said. And if there is any doubt, health authorities can be contacted for intervention, he added.

Further, the Minister pointed out that the number of passengers traveling in buses on a daily basis has also decreased rapidly.

“Before the outbreak of the Covid 19 epidemic, 1,600 buses a day were operating. Nearly, 25,000 passengers traveled. Now the number of buses has been limited to 666. And the number of passengers is about 5,691. What we hope to do is to protect passengers from the COVID-19 pandemic while maintaining passenger service.”

In addition, the Minister stated that passengers or bus owners may call the hotline 1955 for any complaints or inquiries regarding bus services during the pandemic.