Pilot Project for Bank Card Bus Fare Payments Launched

A pilot project enabling bus fare payments via bank cards for ticket purchases was officially launched at the Makumbura Multimodal Transport Centre under the patronage of Minister of Transport, Bimal Rathnayake.

Key details of the initiative

The bank-card payment system was initially introduced for expressway bus services operating on the Makumbura–Matara, Makumbura–Galle, Makumbura–Badulla, and Colombo–Ampara routes, aiming to reduce the reliance on cash transactions.

The initiative is a collaborative measure between the Ministry of Digital Technology and the Ministry of Transport, intended to modernize Sri Lanka’s public transport system.

Expansion Plans:

• The Western Province Road Passenger Transport Authority (WP-RPTA) expects to implement the system across all expressway buses in the Western Province by December.

• The WP-RPTA plans to extend the card-payment service to all buses operating in the Western Province by the end of 2026.

• Separate implementations are already underway on certain routes in the Western (Borella–Kadawatha) and Uva Provinces (Badulla–Bandarawela, Dambulla–Mahiyanganaya, Monaragala–Bibila, and Monaragala–Wellawaya).

Source:

https://srilankamirror.com/news/pilot-project-enabling-bus-fare-payments-via-bank-cards-kicks-off/