Sri Lanka has launched a pilot online seat reservation system for long-distance bus travel, Transport and Highways Minister Bimal Rathnayake announced on Monday.
The pilot platform, hosted at www.busticket.gov.lk, allows passengers to reserve seats in advance instead of queueing at terminals. A telephone helpline (0112001266) and an in-person assistance centre at Makumbura have been set up to support travellers who cannot use the website. The initial rollout covers private bus operators only; integration with the state-owned Sri Lanka Transport Board is planned for a later phase.
Speaking at a media briefing, Rathnayake said buses remain the most widely used mode of daily transport in the country, surpassing trains in popularity, but passengers continue to face inconvenience because seat reservations require a physical visit to terminals. “This new system will allow passengers to reserve seats in advance and plan their journeys more efficiently,” he said.
The launch is one strand of a broader public-transport modernisation push that includes Monday’s groundbreaking on Sri Lanka’s first Metro Bus depot in Kadawatha and the ComBank–NCG Express cashless payment rollout on private intercity routes. Together, the depot, online reservations and cashless ticketing are intended to support a fleet expansion to 122 Metro buses across six routes from August.
The booking platform is operating in test mode and the Ministry has not published a target date for full launch or for SLTB integration.
Source: Newswire.
