History of Sri Lanka Transport Board
The history of Sri Lanka Transport Board, the state-run, primary bus operator in Sri Lanka, goes back to 1 January 1958. The state-owned enterprise was at the time known as the Ceylon Transport Board. At its peak, it was the largest omnibus company in the world - with about 7,000 buses and over 50,000 employees. With privatization in 1979, it underwent a period of decline. First broken up into several regional boards, then into several companies, it was finally reconstituted as the Sri Lanka Transport Board in 2005. Origins The first motor omnibus in Sri Lanka was imported in 1907, and bus transport began in Sri Lanka as an owner-operated service. There was no regulation, so when more than one bus operated on a single route there was a scramble for the load, which might end in fisticuffs or even stabbings. By the mid-1930s, malpractices in pursuit of maximum profit began to compromise safety and comfort. The setting up of the limited liability omnibus companies by the British around 1940 was the first meaningful step in regularising public passenger transport in the country. Controlling legislation was strengthened in 1951 with the introduction of a system of quantity and quality licensing,