A major financial scam involving the printing of driving licences by a single private company over more than two decades had been exposed, Transport Minister Bimal Ratnayake revealed in Parliament yesterday.

The Minister said the long-standing contract, continuously awarded to the same company, had resulted in significant wastage of public funds. According to Ratnayake, the cost of printing a single driving licence under the private arrangement stood at Rs. 534.54, while the Department for Registration of Motor Vehicles (RMV) could produce the same for Rs. 367.

“We have decided that driving licences will henceforth be printed by the RMV,” the Minister announced. “Printing machines are currently being installed for this purpose.”

Meanwhile, in a move to modernise public transport, Ratnayake announced that from November 30, 2025, bus commuters will be able to pay fares using bank-issued credit and debit cards on buses equipped with ticketing machines.

“It’s a well-known fact that people are being cheated through the current bus ticketing system. This is one of the main reasons the bus industry is not financially viable,” he said, adding that bus operators have long struggled to earn sustainable income.

He noted that private bus owners have been demanding the introduction of a digital payment system for years. Although several attempts had been made to introduce transport cards, the process had proven too complex.

Under the new system, passengers on buses fitted with ticketing machines will be able to pay with any bank card accepted in Sri Lanka, Ratnayake said.

The Minister also addressed delays in the issuance of new vehicle number plates, revealing that as of September 30, over 165,000 requests remained unfulfilled.

“The new plates include seven special security features. We assigned testing of these features to the University of Moratuwa, which took three months—but they were only able to test six of the seven,” he explained. “We’ve now had to seek international assistance to complete the process. That is the reason for the delay.”

He emphasised that while the added security was crucial, it had impacted the timeline.

Ratnayake also assured Parliament that the backlog in issuing new driving licences would be cleared by October 18 .

By Saman Indrajith