Prof. Kumarage said that the public transport sector shrunk 16 percent in the last decade, with the number of busses serving the commercial capital down to 22,000 busses from 27,000 in the 1985-1995 decade.
Meanwhile an average of over 374,000 private vehicles entered the city everyday in the ten years up to 2005, up from 254,000 in the decade before.
People traffic however, dropped from 1.6 million a day in the 1985-1995 decade to about 1.5 million in the last 10 years.
Prof. Kumarage said the government urgently needed adopt a programme to get people back on public transport to avoid further congestion in Colombo.
Improving the level of service, minimising overcrowding and re-planning bus routes are some of the urgent necessities that have been identified.
Prof. Kumar