TERMS & CONDITIONS
These Terms & Conditions formulate a binding contract between the Customer/Passenger, Ministry of Transport, Highways and Urban Development (hereinafter referred to as "the Ministry") and Sri Lanka Telecom PLC (hereinafter referred to as "SLT"). By using the Platform reservation service, the Customer/Passenger agrees to be bound by the terms and conditions stated herein. In case Customer/Passenger do not agree to the terms and conditions, the Ministry and SLT are not in a position to provide the Customer/Passenger with the services. These Terms & Conditions are subject to change at any time without prior notice. To ensure that Customer/Passenger is aware of any changes, Customers/Passengers are requested to review these Terms & Conditions periodically.
1.1 Platform reservation service is a value addition for public transport seat reservation. The Ministry and SLT act solely as technology Platform facilitating reservations between Customers and bus operators. The Ministry or SLT do not operate, control or manage bus transportation services of its own. In order to provide a comprehensive choice of bus operators, the Ministry has entered into agreements with several bus operators. The Ministry and SLT strictly advise the Customers/Passengers to select bus operators who offer a reliable and comfortable public transport service.
2.1 The Customer/Passenger shall be present at the bus station, thirty (30) minutes before the Estimated Time of Departure (ETD) of the reserved bus service.
2.2 The Customer/Passenger is required to furnish the Ticket or the reservation confirmation SMS to the Bus Conductor along with the National Identity Card issued by the Department for Registrations of Persons, Driver's License issued by the Department of Motor Traffic or the Passport issued by respective authority to verify the identity of the Customer/Passenger.
2.3 The Customer/Passenger agrees to produce one of the personal identification documents mentioned in above article 2.2 for inspection by bus operator's designated staff or relevant authorities to verify the identity in the event of a security concern at any given time throughout the Customer/Passenger's engagement with the Services offered by the Ministry and SLT and bus operators.
2.4 Tickets reserved via the Platform are transferable, provided however, the Customer/Passenger shall ensure that the ticket is not duplicated or misused. It is Customer/Passenger's sole responsibility to provide accurate contact information and persons identification details of all intended Customers/Passengers for each seat reserved. Customer/Passengers agree that inaccurate Customer/Passenger details may lead in prohibiting the embarkation.
2.5 Customer/Passenger agrees to provide accurate information at the time of ticket reservation. Customer/Passenger shall be solely responsible for consequence arising out of any miscommunications, any misleading or false information provided by the Customer/Passenger.
2.6 Customer/Passenger shall be solely responsible for the selection of the bus operator, Bus and the Schedule.
2.7 Customer/Passenger agrees that any change required by the Customer/Passenger that affects to the selected seat number, schedule or date is considered as cancellation and request for such changes will be dealt according to the cancellation and refund policy stipulated herein.
2.8 Customer/Passenger agrees to get onboard from the bus station (hereinafter referred as boarding point) selected at the time of reservation. In the event the Customer/Passenger is not able to get on board at such boarding point, the Customer/Passenger acknowledges that the Ministry, SLT or the bus operator shall not guarantee the availability of a vacant seat after the bus passing from such boarding point.
2.9 Customer/Passenger acknowledges that the starting and end points of the journey are fixed to Makumbura, Galle, Matara terminals only. Customer/Passenger further agrees to pay the full charge for the journey irrespective of the boarding point or the disembarking point of the Customer/Passenger.
2.10 Customer/Passenger shall not at any time misuse the Platform to perform prohibited activities such as, automated bookings, ticket resale, impersonation, providing false identity, platform hacking.
2.11 The Customer shall be responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of any account credentials used to access the Platform.
2.12 The Customer/Passenger agrees to comply with priority seating arrangements implemented by bus operators or required under applicable laws and regulations, including seating reserved for clergy, pregnant women, persons with disabilities, elderly passengers, and other designated categories. Seat selection is subject to such arrangements by the bus operator, for priority seating requirements.
3.1 Issuing a valid Ticket (a ticket that will be accepted by the bus operator) for the network of bus operators.
3.2 Providing Customer/Passenger support and information over the telephone service in case of any delays/inconvenience.
3.3 Notify Customers/Passengers in case a bus for which a reservation has been made by the Customer/Passenger is not available due to a breakdown or for any other reason. The Ministry and SLT rely on information provided by bus operators, thus the Ministry or SLT shall not guarantee the ability to provide information on a timely manner.
3.4 Coordinate with Customer/Passenger and bus operators in the event of a bus cancellation to provide an alternative reservation. However such reservation shall be strictly restricted to available options only.
4.1 Timely departure/arrival of the bus selected by the Customer/Passenger.
4.2 The bus operator's staff not being cooperative and/or disciplined or their conduct whatsoever.
4.3 The bus seats, condition inside the bus etc. not being up to the Customer/Passenger's expectation.
4.4 The bus operator canceling the trip due to unavoidable reasons.
4.5 The baggage of the Customer/Passenger getting lost, stolen, damaged or not being able to load to the bus.
4.6 The bus operator changing a Customer's/Passenger's seat at the last minute to accommodate a separate passenger.
4.7 The Customer/Passenger waiting at the wrong boarding point.
4.8 The bus operator changing the boarding point and/or using a pick-up vehicle at the boarding point to take Customer/Passenger to the bus departure point.
4.9 Any inconvenience caused by the act of other passengers regardless of their source of ticket reservation.
4.10 The Ministry and SLT do not guarantee that the schedule selected by the Customer/Passenger will enable the Customer to reach the destination at a specific time.
4.11 The Ministry and SLT are not liable for any damage or inconvenience arising out of any miscommunication, delays of the Customer/Passenger or any misleading and/or false information provided by the Customer/Passenger.
4.12 Bus schedules are determined by the respective bus operators. The Ministry and SLT shall not be held responsible for any change, delay, cancellation, termination, postponement, diversion, reschedule of any bus/coach or any bus schedules, made by bus operators. Notwithstanding the circumstances the Ministry and SLT shall not be liable for any damage or inconvenience caused to the Customer/Passenger.
4.13 The Ministry and SLT are not liable for any delays before and/or during the journey and for the road accidents at any point of time during the Customer's/Passenger's engagement with the Services offered by the Ministry and SLT and bus operator.
4.14 The Ministry and SLT shall not be liable to the Customer/Passenger or to any other accompanying person for any indirect, incidental, punitive or consequential loss, damage, cost or expense of any kind whatsoever and howsoever caused to Customer/Passenger or to any other accompanying person resulting from Customer/Passenger's engagement with services provided by the Ministry and SLT.
4.15 SLT does not guarantee uninterrupted availability of the Platform due to maintenance or technical issues.
5.1 The Ministry and SLT reserve the right to cancel the reservation due to the Schedule cancellation by the bus operator. In the event of such schedule cancellations by the bus operator, SLT shall refund the full amount charged by the Customer without Internet Payment Gateway (IPG) charges. Refund shall be made by credit card reversal.
5.2 The Ministry and SLT are not liable to refund any amount due to Customer/Passenger not showing up for travel or not being able to get onboard under any circumstances.
5.3 Customer's requests for cancellations are treated under following circumstances.
5.3.1 Reservations made for buses from this Platform are not cancellable by the Customer under any circumstance, hence Customers are not entitled to a refund in any case a Customer/Passenger chose to not to travel.
5.3.2 Customers may reschedule their journey (change date or time) by contacting the call center via Tel no: 0112 001 266, subject to following conditions:
5.4 Costs incurred in communication shall not be refunded under any circumstances.
5.5 In the event of a cancellation, the Customer shall call via the same telephone number through which the reservation was paid for.
6.1 By accepting the terms and conditions the Customer/Passenger accepts that the Ministry and SLT may send the alerts to the mobile phone number provided by the Customer/Passenger while registering for the service or to any such number replaced and informed by the Customer/Passenger. The Customer/Passenger acknowledges that the alerts will be received only if the mobile phone is on active mode and technically acceptable condition to receive the SMS in a timely manner.
6.2 The Ministry and SLT shall make best efforts to provide the service and it shall be deemed that the Customer/Passenger has received the information sent from SLT as an alert on the mobile phone number provided during the course of Ticket reservation. SLT shall not be under any obligation to confirm the authenticity of the person(s) receiving the alert. The Customer/Passenger shall not have the right to hold the Ministry and SLT liable for non-availability of the service in any manner whatsoever.
6.3 The Customer/Passenger acknowledges that the SMS service provided by the Ministry and SLT is an additional facility provided for the Customer/Passenger's convenience and that it may be susceptible to error, omission and/or inaccuracy. In the event the Customer/Passenger observes any error in the information provided in the alert, SLT shall be immediately informed about the same by the Customer/Passenger and the Ministry and SLT shall make best possible efforts to rectify the error as early as possible. The Customer/Passenger shall not hold the Ministry and SLT liable for any loss, damages, claim, expense including legal cost that may be incurred/suffered by the Customer/Passenger on account of the errors, omissions and/or inaccuracies of the SMS facility.
6.4 The Customer/Passenger acknowledges that the clarity, readability, accuracy, and promptness of providing the service depend on many factors including telecommunication infrastructure, connectivity of the Mobile Telecommunication Service Provider of the Customer/Passenger. The Ministry and SLT shall not be responsible for any non-delivery, delayed delivery or distortion of the alert in any way whatsoever.
6.5 The Customer/Passenger agrees to indemnify and hold the Ministry and SLT harmless from any damages, claims, demands, proceedings, loss, cost, charges and expenses whatsoever including legal charges and attorney fees which the Ministry and SLT may at any time incur, sustain, suffer or be put to as a result of or arising out of:
6.5.1 Misuse, improper or fraudulent information provided by the Customer/Passenger, and/or
6.5.2 The Customer/Passenger providing incorrect number or providing a number that belongs to that of an unrelated third party, and/or
6.5.3 The Customer/Passenger receiving from a third party, any false message relating to the reservation number, travel itinerary information, reservation confirmation, modification to a Ticket, cancellation of Ticket, change in bus schedule, delay, and/or rescheduling.
6.6 Customer/Passenger acknowledges and agrees that the Ministry and SLT may call the mobile phone number provided by the Customer/Passenger while registering for the service or to any such number replaced and informed by the Customer/Passenger, for the purpose of collecting feedback from the Customer/Passenger regarding their travel, the bus facilities and/or services of the bus operator.
In the course of providing the Services, SLT may have access to, or may come into possession of, personal information (including, any sensitive personal data) of Customer/Passenger. The Customer/Passenger understands that SLT may be required to share such personal data and confidential information with any subsidiary and/or any subcontractor of SLT in order to provide the Services set out in this Agreement. The Customer/Passenger hereby agrees and consents to such sharing, even cross borders, on the understanding that SLT takes reasonable confidentiality obligations, technical and organizational security measures to prevent any unauthorized or unlawful disclosure or processing of such information and data. Customer/Passenger can access Data Protection and Privacy compliances located at www.slt.lk or at such other location as may be determined by SLT from time to time.
SLT may share personal data with third-party service providers pursuant to confidentiality agreements, with government authorities if legally required, and to protect the platform's integrity or enforce terms of service.
While using the Service, Customer/Passenger may access or interact with third-party services, such as payment gateways or other external platforms. Such services operate independently of this Service, and the Ministry and SLT do not control or assume responsibility for their privacy practices. Customers/Passengers are encouraged to review the privacy policies and terms of such third-party services before providing any personal information to them.
Grievances and claims related to the bus journey should be reported to the Ministry via the support team within 3 days of the travel and any grievances or claims notified later than 3 days will not be inquired into by the Ministry and/or the National Transport Commission (NTC).
These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Sri Lanka. Any disputes arising out of or in connection with these Terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Sri Lanka.
The Ministry and SLT reserve the right to modify these Terms from time to time. Updated Terms will be published on the Platform and will become effective upon publication.
The Ministry and SLT shall not be liable for failure or delay in performing obligations due to events beyond reasonable control including natural disasters, strikes, civil disturbances, government actions, technical failures, or transport disruptions.
All intellectual property rights relating to the Platform, including software, trademarks, and content, remain the property of SLT or its licensors. Users shall not copy, reproduce, or commercially exploit any part of the Platform without prior written permission.
"Customer" means the person who makes the reservation through the Platform.
"Passenger" means the person travelling using the reserved ticket.
The Customer and Passenger may be the same person or different persons.
"Platform" means the bus seat reservation system operated by SLT in collaboration with the Ministry.