The Black Market over Pettah Private Bus Stand

Pettah Private Bus Stand is the country’s main bus terminal where connects bus services for each parts of the country. Every day, over 500000 people go in and within there.

Mainly for long distance bus services offered by Pettah private Bus stand, Monaragala, Jaffna, Anuradhapura, Vavuniya, Polonnaruwa, Hambanthota, Katharagama, Ampara, Trincomalee, Badulla, Bibila etc.

Especially in starting of weekends and festival seasons, there have large number of passengers who are looking for long distance buses to go and visit their families in villages. And with the huge crowd, there is a vast black market arising with the long distance bus services.

Here I’m going to explain you about a real incident that I was facing. This was happen in during last couple of months.

“It was Friday, that me, and few of my friends were going on a trip to Badulla. Woah! Unfortunately we missed the trains because since it was a long weekend the train was full. So we ran to Pettah Bus stand and it was around 9 p.m. "

Oh what a disgusting? There were long ques for 3 hours and we were waiting till 12.35 a.m. When we ask to get in a bus, the drivers and conductors said that “There are many seat bookings so you can get in but you cannot sit because you were not booking.” “Woah! Can anyone go a whole journey of 6, 7 hours by stand alone?

But when we look around and talk with people around there, they all were waiting so long and the busses were delaying. And still there were some busses to Badulla, where have empty seats but they did not allow to get in for any other passengers.

We were really tired and got frustrated. And few of my friends go an around and when they met some drivers and conductors, they said that,

“If you can pay doubled, we can make you seats to go to Badulla.”

And we saw that many people paid them and get in to the busses. Woah! How disgusting?

There were extra empty seats yes. But they only can get when they agree to double pay. What sucks? Isn’t this all our public money that as this way they are playing with?

And this is not only for Badulla, Passara busses; it is almost the true case of long distance bus services from Colombo for several years as usual where there is no any actions were taken yet since many citizens still have been complaining.

Is what a pathetic situation in the country for so long?