SLTB loses increase to Rs3.8bn

Sri Lanka Transport Board's (SLTB) losses rose 15.5 percent to 3.8 billion rupees in 2012 and the Treasury had given 3.6 billion rupees in taxes collected from the people for loss making routes, official data has showed.

Revenues rose 25.1 percent to 26.3 billion rupees helped by a 20 percent fare increase from February 2012, the Central Bank's annual report said. But operating expenses had risen 23.8 percent to 30.1 billion rupees, pushing operating losses up 15.5 percent to 3.8 billion rupees in 2012 from 3.3 billion rupees in 2011.

The Treasury had given 2.2 billion rupees to the bus service to operate 'non-economical' routes and 1.2 billion rupees to provide 'season tickets', from taxes collected from the people.

Transferring taxes collected from the people themselves to 'subsidize' services to the people, known as 'income re-distribution' originated Western Europe and it works as long as people are not fully aware that they themselves pay the 'subsidy'.

The state has three means of getting money: taxes which increase the cost of living and makes domestic farming inefficient, borrowing which increases national debt and money printing, which depreciates the exchange rate and generates inflation.

The SLTB operated 338 million kilometres down 0.9 percent from 341 million a year earlier, but had managed to boost passenger kilometres by 8.4 percent to 19.5 billion. The total number of buses owned by SLTB had fallen from 7,821 to 7,750 despite new purchases due to sale of 1,750 broken down buses to private citizens to run. The average number of buses operated had fallen to 4,314 in 2012 compared to 4,365 a year earlier.

According to finance ministry data, the state bus service had 34,263 workers at the beginning of 2012, indicating that there were 7.8 workers per bus in 2012, and it would have worsened unless there were retirees. The number of privately owned buses had risen 3.8 percent to 20,444, while the operated average bus fleet had risen to 17,129 rupees.