School Van Fares Frozen After the Fuel Hike — Great for Parents, but Can Drivers Survive?

Sri Lanka's auto diesel price rose to Rs. 397 a litre on 1 November, yet the All-Island School Children's Transport Association chose not to raise fares, saying parents shouldn't carry the extra cost. Bus operators made the same call, while three-wheeler associations split, with some drivers quietly charging more for the first kilometre. For parents, this looks like a rare win: the people who ferry your children to school absorbing a fuel hike instead of passing it straight to you, at a time when school fees, tuition and uniforms already squeeze the monthly budget. For van operators, it's a quieter story. Diesel is now a bigger slice of a fixed monthly fee, and something usually gives first — servicing gets delayed, a cracked tyre runs one more term, or a van quietly carries two more kids than it should to cover the gap. So which matters more here: the price parents see, or what that frozen price might be costing in brake pads, tyre tread and seatbelts you never get to inspect? If you run a school van or send a child in one, what's actually changed on your route since 1 November? ළමයින් ප්‍රවාහන ගාස්තු නොවැඩි කළාට සතුටුයි, ඒත් ඒ මුදලින් රථය හොඳට නඩත්තු කරනවද කියලා හිතලා බලන්න.