Sri Lanka’s public transportation and mobility related services to be digitalised in two years, said Ministry of Transport and Highways Secretary Eng. Ranjith Rubasinghe.
He made these remarks during the panel discussion as a response to the inquiry made by the moderator of the panel that held on the Mobility and Economic Growth organised by the Ceylon Motor Traders’ Association (CMTA) on Tuesday (30 April) at the Cinnamon Lakeside.
“We are thinking of short-term approaches (for railway and public transport development). Without digitising, I don’t think that public transport would be user friendly otherwise. With the Government process, it would take at least 2 years.”
Accordingly, an e-Licence system, e-ticketing for bus services is to be introduced while bus tracking service also is to be looked forward with the support of Google as they are the “low hanging fruits” for mobility development, said the Ministry Secretary.
Despite Sri lanka commenced its railway service in 1855, 17 years ahead of Japan, its system is old and with the amount if investments that Japan has brought into its railway, Sri Lanka stands at low-level, and has resulted people deviating from using public transport as Sri Lanka’s service is not quite upto modern day standards, he elaborated saying that Government looks forward in making transportation efficient, the public needs to be attracted back to the public transportation.
Eng. Rubasinghe added: “We will be able to build an efficient transport sector which will give a lot of comfort to the economy. This (mobility development) is interrelated, economy wise.”
The rest of the panellists were Embassy of Japan Deputy Head of Mission Katsuki Kotaro, Former Secretary to the Ministry of Industries and present Secretary to the Ministry of Education Thilaka Jayasundara, Sri Lanka Bankers Association Chairperson Bingumal Thewarathanthri, and it was moderated by the immediate past Chairperson of CMTA Yasendra Amerasinghe.
