The Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) will run special bus services from April 9 to April 21 to handle the Sinhala and Tamil New Year travel rush, adding 1,500 extra buses to its regular fleet.
SLTB Chairman Sajeewa Kanakarathna announced the schedule at a media briefing on Wednesday. Buses travelling out of Colombo will operate on a heightened schedule from April 9 to April 13, covering the period when most passengers head to their hometowns for Avurudu. Return services to Colombo will ramp up from April 15 to April 21, as travellers come back after the holiday.
In addition to the 1,500 buses deployed on intercity routes, a further 50 buses will be placed on standby in and around Colombo during the period and dispatched based on passenger demand, Kanakarathna said.
The Sinhala and Tamil New Year, known as Avurudu, falls on April 13–14 and marks the largest domestic travel event of the year, with large numbers of workers and students returning to rural homes from Colombo and other urban centres.
The special services come as the country juggles several overlapping pressures on public services. A fresh 48-hour GMOA token strike also begins on April 9, affecting state hospital outpatient services through the start of the holiday rush.
