It is said that there are more than 2000 registered taxis around Katunayake Airport and 1057 taxis in six societies, and nearly 1000 taxis and foreigners are engaged in the transport service through the tender system, but recently the minister in charge of the airport decided to include Uber and Picmee services despite such a service. T
he opposition leader, Mr. Sajith Premadasa, disclosed in Parliament today (21) that there has been a great injustice to the people who have been using the taxi service for a long time. Sri Lanka’s Latest News
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has highlighted the plight of small-scale taxi services as a result of the inclusion of large-scale private taxi companies such as PickMe and Uber at Katunayake’s Bandaranaike International Airport.
Mr Premadasa stated that small-scale taxi drivers in Sri Lanka are already suffering as a result of the pandemic and economic crisis.
He also stated that the government’s recent decision to allow private taxi services to operate at the airport has harmed the livelihoods of small-scale taxi drivers.
“Allowing such large-scale private taxi companies to operate at Katunayake Airport is a bad decision that is unfair to small-scale taxi drivers,” he said.
When considering the services of private taxi companies, Mr Premadasa requested that the authorities protect the jobs of over 2000 small-scale taxi drivers.
He also asked the relevant ministers to look into the matter and implement a system to protect small-scale taxi drivers as well.