President Ranil Wickremesinghe, by virtue of the powers vested in him in terms of Section 2 of the Essential Public Services Act, No. 61 of 1979, yesterday declared public transport as an Essential Service through an extraordinary Gazette notification.
The notice said public transport was essential to the life of the community. Public transport services for passengers or goods and the provision and maintenance of facilities for transport services by road, rail, including roads, bridges, culverts and railway lines were declared as Essential Services.