Sri Lanka Transport Board

File:Sri Lanka Transport Board logo.png

The Sri Lanka Transport Board is a company which provides bus services across Sri Lanka. It saw a highly successful experiment in large-scale workers' self-management from 1958 to 1979 as well as some interesting data on anarcho-capitalism.

History

Origins

The first bus company in Sri Lanka was established in 1907, and according to Wikipedia:

"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 evenstabbings. By the mid-1930s, malpractices in pursuit of maximum profit began to compromise safety and comfort."

and

The owners were in overall charge of operations, and the companies ran the services on their own whims and fancies; the companies shared routes among themselves. It was therefore difficult for the commuters to travel to distant places without breaking journey at one or two destinations. There were no time schedules or night time services. Buses packed to capacity were driven at a terrific speed, even on bends on the steep roads of the Hatton-Adam's Peak route. Only the South Western Bus Company was run on modern lines. These companies employed the minimum number of staff: support staff was almost non-existent. The employees were treated abominably: one owner allegedly tied a bus conductor to a tree and spanked the poor man for failing to bring in the targeted collection for the day. Unionisation by N. M. Perera's All Ceylon United Motor Workers' Union had to proceed in secret, with union agents disguising themselves to avoid company thugs.

Sounds like a utopia, doesn't it? Eventually, the state was pressured by unions to enact regulations, but the companies efforts to constantly skirt them and the economic effects of poor public transport led to nationalization. But mismangement, corruption and inefficienies led to a change in the system.

Workers' Self-Management

In order to improve the efficiency of the buses, worker councils were set up which allow workers' self-management to be put into practice. The standardisation of construction material, vehicles and fuel combined with the increased morale of workers (both drivers and maintenance crew) led by workers councils allowed for the largest bus service in the world (with 7,000 buses and 50,000 workers serving 4,000,000 commuters a day) to function smoothly, delivering on-time bus services, clean buses and few accidents.

Privatisation

When the neoliberal government around J.R. Jayewardene was intent on destroying a popular symbol of socialism in practice. Funding was cut massively and buses were sold to other companies who supported the ruling government at low prices. Assets from the company were stolen by government cronies and workers councils were banned. By the 2000s, the board had declined massively and gets a letter every day about overloaded buses, buses going too fast, dangerous driving, rude staff and high fees.