Jan 06, Colombo: Sri Lanka's transport officials have seized 44 route permits of private buses as the bus owners failed to reduce the bus fares from this morning.

Director General of the National Transport Commission (NTC), M.A. Jeffrey said they hope to take legal actions against these bus owners in the near future.

Reportedly the NTC has received a large number of complaints from passengers regarding the buses that did not reduce the fares.

The NTC hopes to commence inspections on these buses from tomorrow.

Following the price reduction in diesel last week, the NTC has decided to reduce the bus fares by 4.3% amid heavy objections from the bus owners.

Some private bus associations in the country strongly opposed the bus fare reduction and stressed that they would not accept the new price scheme as the other expenses remain unchanged and the reduction in the price of diesel is not enough to reduce fares.