The new gazette by the Ministry of Transport setting out a number of regulations for trishaws is not the need of the hour, says the All Island Three Wheeler Owners Association.
According to the Chairman of the Association, Sudhil Jayaruk, the Gazette is in fact premature as the proposed regulatory authority for trishaws is not yet in place.
While agreeing that many of the new regulations can be beneficial to trishaw owners, drivers as well as the public, Jayaruk said the Ministry of Transport has misled three wheeler unions.
¨Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva discussed the contents of the gazette with us but has included regulations that he did not reveal at the meeting,¨ Jayaruk said, adding, that the associations see this as a move to mislead them.
The new gazette follows a similar gazette released in 2013 to regulate trishaws which was later challenged in the courts by the concerned parties. According to Jayaruk, members of various three wheeler associations will opt for union action if certain questionable regulations are not repealed, he said.
The new gazette released on January 9 makes it mandatory to have an operational taximeter and prohibits drivers from smoking while on duty.
It also went on to state that drivers should behave in a civil and orderly manner, that they should not finish the tour before they have been discharged by the hirer and should carry passengers to their destinations by the shortest possible route within the shortest time, unless otherwise requested by the passengers.
Drivers also have to display the vehicle registration number, name and driving licence number of the driver, a photograph of the driver and telephone number of the police station where the vehicle has been registered, behind the driver seat and clearly visible to passengers, to be used in case of an emergency.