Lanka Private Bus Owners’ Association (LPBOA) Chairman Gemunu Wijeratne has lodged a complaint with the Criminal Investigation Department over what he says are defamatory statements made against him on social media.
Wijeratne said the comments followed his public remarks on the government’s Metro Bus project, after which he was targeted across social media platforms. The complaint was filed amid continuing online discussion of those remarks.
”The concept is not new”
Speaking to reporters, Wijeratne said the Metro Bus concept was not new and that he had put a comparable proposal to the Ministry of Transport himself, submitted after the 2023 economic crisis. His plan would have been financed through China’s EXIM Bank rather than from public funds, he said.
He also claimed a similar initiative had been launched under former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s administration but was later abandoned after incurring substantial costs and losses.
Buses of the type proposed for the Metro Bus service were imported by a private company around a decade ago, Wijeratne said. About 60 were brought in at the time, and a further 20 similar buses remain at a facility in Panagoda.
He questioned the feasibility and running costs of the project, particularly its fuel consumption, while repeating that the underlying concept was not original.
Background
The state-run Metro Bus service has been rolling out through this year, with 104 buses arriving at the Colombo Port in late July ahead of a September rollout, followed by announcements of a weekend pass and planned expansion to Jaffna and Kandy.
Wijeratne, who represents private bus operators, is a frequent commentator on transport policy and said in June that bus fares would remain unchanged for six months.
Ada Derana did not report who made the alleged defamatory comments, and no action by the CID has been announced.
