Colombo, March 22 Non-state bus operators in Sri Lanka warned on Sunday that 90% of their fleet may be out of service due to the extensive increase in fuel prices, which came into effect at midnight.
The island nation raised fuel retail prices at midnight, the second such increase in a week.
This move comes in the context of the joint US-Israel strikes against Iran and the subsequent retaliation by the Islamic nation, which has spread throughout the Gulf region. This has led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a strategically important chokepoint for the world's energy supplies.
"This is the biggest increase in diesel prices ever, we will not be able to operate buses without a sufficient fare increase. We need a minimum 15% fare increase to stay afloat," Gamunu Wijeratne, the chairman of the private bus owners' association, told reporters here.
Private owners dominate the public transport service, accounting for 65-75% of the market share. The state fleet accounts for around 25-35%.
The midnight price revision saw the price of diesel, used for all transport purposes, increase by Sri Lankan Rupees (LKR) 79 to LKR 382 per liter.
Three-wheeler taxi operators, dominated by Indian Bajaj, also reported that the price of commonly used petrol was raised to nearly LKR 400 per liter.
"Who would want to ride with us at this price?" a three-wheeler operator said.
The Lanka Private Bus Owners' Association (LPBOA) announced that it will launch a nationwide strike, starting at 6:00 pm, if the scheduled bus fare revision is not officially announced by 5:00 pm on Sunday, according to news portal Adaderana.lk.
There have been three fuel price revisions since March 1, caused by the conflict in West Asia.
The opposition said that the government gains LKR 119 in taxes for each liter of petrol, while diesel is taxed at LKR 93 per liter. The taxes should be scrapped to provide relief to the public, it added.
Analysts say that the fuel price hike will cause inflation to increase by 5-8%.
Earlier in the day, government spokesman and minister Nalinda Jayatissa urged the public to use fuel and electricity sparingly to mitigate potential shortages in the volatile global oil market.
Apart from the state fuel entity, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), Lanka IOC (LIOC), a subsidiary of IndianOil in Sri Lanka, China's Sinopec, and Australia's United Petroleum are in the retail fuel market. In line with the CPC revision, LIOC and Sinopec also revised their retail prices, according to media reports.