Nearly 10 per cent of bus drivers, conductors and assistants tested by Sri Lanka’s National Transport Medical Institute have been identified as using drugs, according to findings from an expanding screening programme aimed at improving public transport safety and reducing road accidents.
Professor Clifford Perera, chairman of the National Transport Medical Institute, said the findings had been confirmed through drug tests conducted under a mobile laboratory testing programme covering the Western, Southern, North Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces. He said the process of identifying drivers who are under the influence of drugs while on duty was continuing.
The proportion initially stood at 4.5 per cent, but increased to nearly 10 per cent as testing was expanded to cover additional areas and provinces. The figures have prompted authorities to broaden the programme, which is being conducted under the National Road Safety Programme of the Ministry of Transport, Highways and Urban Development.
The mobile drug-testing programme was officially launched in November 2025 at the Makumbura Multimodal Transport Centre. During its initial phase, mobile medical laboratory buses were used to analyse urine samples and rapidly detect four types of drugs: cannabis, crystal methamphetamine, heroin and babul.
The programme was subsequently extended to major bus terminals in the Western Province, including Bastiyan Mawatha, Maharagama, Kadawatha and Piliyandala. In January 2026, similar testing was also introduced at the Sri Lanka Transport Board’s Mattakkuliya depot, targeting SLTB drivers and conductors.
The legal framework for enforcement was also expanded during the period. Following the gazetting of legal provisions under the Motor Traffic Act, authorities gained the power to take legal action against people driving vehicles under the influence of drugs. Previously, legal action in this area had been limited to motorists driving under the influence of alcohol.
Statistics show that by July 2026, a total of 5,242 drivers and conductors had been tested in the Western Province alone. Of those, 239 tested positive for drug use and were referred for legal action, representing 4.5 per cent of those tested. However, when testing carried out across several provinces was taken into account, the overall positive rate had risen to nearly 10 per cent.
By 10 August 2026, the total number of random tests conducted under the programme had reached 7,150. On the same day, the Ministry of Health handed over another fully equipped mobile drug-testing bus, identified as PZA-0040, to the National Transport Medical Institute. The additional vehicle has strengthened the institute’s ability to conduct testing across five provinces.
The operations are being conducted with the assistance of the Sri Lanka Police. Individuals who test positive are taken into custody and steps are taken to produce them before the courts. On 12 August, a driver and three conductors from SLTB and private buses who tested positive during testing in the Padukka area were due to be produced before the Homagama Magistrate’s Court. Similar arrests had previously been reported in Maharagama, Kadawatha, Nugegoda and Averiwatta.
Authorities plan to extend the programme to all provinces in the country and double the number of tests conducted by increasing both physical and human resources. Transport authorities have urged all operators to employ only qualified drivers and conductors who are free from drug use, while stressing that driving under the influence of drugs can contribute to road accidents, deaths and serious injuries. The authorities have said the testing programme will continue as part of efforts to safeguard passengers and strengthen public transport safety.
