Sri LANKA'S private bus operators and taxi drivers stopped work yesterday to protest government plans of a 50-fold increase in traffic fines to curb the rising number of road accidents.
About 6,000 privately-owned buses have gone on strike at the government's proposal to raise the average traffic fine of 500 rupees to $166 from January.
Many taxi drivers and rickshaw drivers are also on strike over the hike.
The strike has forced the state-run transport company to deploy an additional 1,000 vehicles, an official said, while the railways are also operating extra trains.
