Sri Lanka's Central Bank calls for cheaper transport

Colombo, May 8 (IANS) Sri Lanka's Central Bank said on Tuesday that the government must explore cheaper and faster options to tackle traffic jams in the island country such as establishing a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system and a Light Rail Transit (LRT).

"Expeditious implementation of effective and affordable traffic management solutions is vital to curb numerous negative externalities arising from traffic congestion," the Central Bank said in its annual report cited by Xinhua news agency.

Major improvements to both public and private bus transport services were essential to overcome traffic congestion in urban areas and reduce productivity losses in the overall economy, the bank was quoted by the Sri Lankan media as saying.

The Central Bank noted that the increase in traffic, mostly by low occupancy vehicles like cars, had been rapid, and resulted in heavy traffic congestion, wasting time and financial resources of the country while increasing pollution levels.

The total vehicle population in Sri Lanka has risen from 3,390,993 in 2008 to over 6 million in 2016.