Sri Lanka, June 17 -- Private bus fares will not be increased under any circumstances, Passenger Transport Management Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said.

However he said that since there were many complaints from private bus owners that they are running at loss due to the prevailing situation, the government is considering other forms of compensating their losses.

Amaraweera said that private bus operators had complained that they are running at a loss due to the government decision of carrying passengers only to seating capacity in buses. Therefore, they have urged the government to take measures to increase bus fares by 1.5 percent similar to the bus fares charged by semi-luxury buses currently.

However, the government will not burden ...