Keppetipola bus depot upgraded

Irangika RANGE

The Keppetipola bus depot in Badulla will be declared as the 31 model depot by Transport Minister Dullas Alahapperuma on August 2 to provide a better transport service to commuters of Uva Province. Accordingly, the depot will receive 10 new buses at a cost of Rs.45 million to its fleet.

"Only profit making depots will be upgraded as model depots and the Keppetipola depot had shown a good improvement in earning profit, maintaining standards and providing a smooth service for the past few years," a Spokesman from the Transport Ministry told the Daily News.

Each model bus depot is provided with the required number of buses according to the Time Table Requirement(TTR). With providing of 10 new buses, the total bus fleet of the Keppetipola depot would increase upto 79 buses.

Vacancies for drivers and conductors at these depots will be filled while infrastructure facilities would also be improved.

"It is expected that by the end of this year all model bus depots are expected to be in operation to strengthen the transport service in the country," he said. It is also proposed to improve the school bus service in each model depot under this concept.