Tourist-friendly three-wheeler to be launched in Sri Lanka

The Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will launch the first tourist-friendly three-wheeler service in Sri Lanka on July 30 at the Galle Face Green in Colombo.

The project is being implemented by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) under the direction of the Minister of Finance and Mass Media Mangala Samaraweera in keeping with the budget proposals presented last year.

The Budget 2018 proposed a tourism training and certification programme for three-wheeler drivers who are above 21 years of age, in tourist areas. The tourism authority has developed a basic curriculum for a two-day training course and test, after which the driver would receive a certification of completion, stickers and a photo identification card that must be displayed in the tuk-tuk.

The Prime Minister will symbolically award the certificates and the seal of approval to 150 tuk-tuk drivers who have successfully completed the training provided by the SLTDA during the inaugural ceremony.

The certified tuk-tuk drives can display the seal on their three-wheeler allowing local and foreign tourists to easily identify the trained drivers and avail their services. “Training and educating three-wheeler drivers will help increase their individual incomes, and the local economy of the community, while providing safer and more organized travel choices for tourists, said SLTDA in a release.

Following the inauguration, the certified three-wheelers, displaying the seal, will parade the city.