Transport in Sri Lanka

Bus 2.0

What would it take to get me out of a car and into a bus?

I live not 2-minutes from one of the busiest bus routes in Colombo. Yet, I rarely travel by bus. A car (private or Taxi) is my usual mode of transport.

And there are many car-holics like me. As of 2018, for every bus in Sri Lanka, there were almost eight cars. The problem is that cars, compared to busses, are far less efficient at using road space. A Tata LP 913 has about 3.5x more seats per area than a Toyota Prius. This misuse of road space is one of the top reasons for traffic congestion in Sri Lanka in general and Colombo in particular.

What if we can convince these people (like me) to get out of cars and into busses? What if we could design a new bus system that these people would be happy to adopt?

In this article, I discuss a hypothetical bus system: Bus 2.0. The sort of system I’d be happy to use.

Comfort

Air Conditioning

The top reason I don’t travel by bus is because of Air Conditioning. Or, more accurately, because of the lack of it. In a city with 90°F Temperatures and 90% Humidity, turning up to a meeting drenched in sweat is not an option. Hence, I revert to Kangaroo, Uber or PickMe.

Crowd Free

A seat or a comfortable standing space, without foreign elbows is a must have for me. Regulation around “maximum passenger limits” would enable this.

Safety

Harassment-free Busses

Busses in Sri Lanka are notorious for “Bus Perves”, who physically and verbally abuse, especially female passengers, particularly at times when busses are crowded. Pickpockets and other thieves are also not uncommon.

Again “Maximum passenger limits” preventing over-crowding, would be a partial solution. Another might be to install security cameras on busses and use the footage to prosecute and shame miscreants.

Bus Stops

Many passenger accidents occur when busses are picking-up or dropping-off passengers; often because busses don’t stop at designated bus-stops, and instead stop (say) on the middle of the road. Or, even worse, not stop at all.

As before, mandating and enforcing regulations on basic safety will solve this problem. Even with no rules or enforcement, Bus 2.0 could use these safety guidelines as a mechanism to differentiate itself from Bus 1.0, and hence build a customer base and brand.

“The App”

Payments

People are far more likely to buy and use a product if they pay for it using cashless payment methods.

A “Bus 2.0 App” that would enable payments would be simple to build, especially given that most rider and drivers will own a smartphone.

Tracking Stops

Beyond payments, a bus could easily provide other services. For example, it could warn the passenger that their destination is near, and alert the driver to stop; the modern version of the “bell” found on some busses.

Joint Ventures

Niche Transport & Tourism

In parallel to a “public transport” alternative, Bus 2.0 could also serve niches like office transport and school transport, by possibly going into joint-ventures with organizations or schools.

Another option is to use the system as a “Tourist Bus” system, particularly since many tourists sites around Colombo and its suburbs lie along existing bus routes.

Ride-Sharing Apps

Existing ride-sharing networks like PickMe and Uber could add Bus 2.0. Just as you pick a Tuk or a car, you could choose a Bus.

Advertising and Publicity

As with most products, a little marketing could go a long way.

Bus 2.0 could market itself as “an environmentally friendly alternative to cars”, or “the most comfortable way to see Colombo” or “the safest way to travel” etc.

Playing Devil’s Advocate

Cost

“But wait!” you ask. “Won’t AC busses with security cameras and passenger limits be expensive?”

Pricewise, we are not competing with the fares of existing busses. A journey that costs Rs.50 by regular bus (let’s call it Bus 1.0) might cost Rs. 1000 by car. Hence, a reasonable price for Bus 2.0 is probably in the range of Rs. 100 to 400 for this ride, and won’t need to compete at Rs.50.

This differential would give some “breathing space” cost-wise.

The Bus Mafia

“Sri Lanka’s Bus 1.0 is controlled by a (relatively) small collection of politically well-connected businessmen. Won’t they oppose Bus 2.0?”

At least at the beginning, Bus 2.0 would look like Tourist or Office Bus services, which already operate fairly independently. Hence, at least initially, Bus 2.0 would not compete with the interests of Bus 1.0.

More for the Rich

“Why build another transport option for people who already have cars? Particularly when we could significantly improve Bus 1.0?”

True. Bus 1.0 is hardly optimal. However, solving the problems of Bus 1.0 and Bus 2.0 are neither mutually exclusive nor zero-sum. Also, unlike Bus 1.0, which might need a government subsidy, Bus 2.0 can be self-funded.

Concluding Thoughts on Next Steps

So what happens next?

While Bus 2.0 might sound like “one grand plan”, it is a collection of much smaller plans; implementable independently and in parallel. Anyone interested in one of the parts could start working on that part(as I might do myself) knowing that they are contributing to the whole.

Bus 2.0 could also be, not a system, but a “Standard” for building systems. The implementation left to individual transport providers.