Now it's 'Leyland and Mercedes only' for Ceylon
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THE Ceylon Transport Board has decided to standardize its fleet of buses. All future purchases will be confined to Mercedes Benz and Leyland makes.
From the time of the nationalization of the bus services in Ceylon, passenger transport consultants and advisory committees had strongly recommended standardizing the fleet. An Indian study team reported in 1961 that the CTB was "perhaps the only transport organization in the world with such multiciplicity of makes and models of buses".
The CTB has now decided to operate Mercedes and Leyland buses on a geographical basis. Mercedes buses will operate in the hilly upcountry and the Leyland buses will run on long-distance routes and also in the low country.
The C TB is saddled with redundant spare parts to the value of nearly Rs40,000,000. Most of these spares are for makes and models of vehicles which are no longer in use. All attempts to dispose of these items have failed.