Paying on the bus
❃ Paying on the bus
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නුවරට ටිකට් එක කීයද?
[ nuvaraṭa ṭikaṭ eka kīyada? ] -
How much is the ticket to Kandy?
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කොළඹට ටිකට් දෙකක් දෙන්න
[ koḷam̆baṭa ṭikaṭ dekak denna ] -
Two tickets to Colombo, please
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පන්සීයට මාරු කාසි තියෙනවද?
[ pansīyaṭa māru kāsi tiyenavada? ] -
Do you have change for 500?
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මම පස්සේ සල්ලි දෙන්නම්
[ mama passē salli dennam ] -
I will pay later
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මේ බස් එකේ ගොඩක් සෙනඟ!
[ mē bas ekē goḍak senan̆ga! ] -
This bus is very crowded!
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කරුණාකරලා මට යන්න ඉඩ දෙන්න
[ karuṇākaralā maṭa yanna iḍa denna ] -
Please let me pass
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මේ සීට් එකේ කවුරුහරි ඉන්නවද?
[ mē sīṭ ekē kavuruhari innavada? ] -
Is this seat taken?
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මට මෙතනින් වාඩි වෙන්න පුළුවන්ද?
[ maṭa metanin vāḍi venna puḷuvanda? ] -
Can I sit here?
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ඔයාගේ බෑග් එක ටිකක් අයින් කරනවද?
[ oyāgē bǣg eka ṭikak ayin karanavada? ] -
Could you move your bag, please?
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කරුණාකරලා ඇතුළට යන්න
[ karuṇākaralā ætuḷaṭa yanna ] -
Please move inside (the bus)
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මම ඊළඟ හෝල්ට් එකෙන් බහිනවා
[ mama īḷan̆ga hōlṭ eken bahinavā ] -
I am getting off at the next stop
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බස් එක නවත්වන්න!
[ bas eka navatvanna! ] -
Please stop the bus!
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පරිස්සමෙන් බහින්න
[ parissamen bahinna ] -
Watch your step when getting off
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ප්රශ්නයක් නෑ, මම හිටගෙන යන්නම්
[ praśnayak nǣ, mama hiṭagena yannam ] -
I will stand, no problem
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ජනේලය ටිකක් අරින්න පුළුවන්ද?
[ janēlaya ṭikak arinna puḷuvanda? ] -
Can you open the window a little?
Inside a Sri Lankan bus, you will quickly become acquainted with the "Kondosthara" (කොන්දොස්තර - kondosthara), the bus conductor. Unlike transport systems where you buy a ticket before boarding or tap a smart card, in Sri Lanka, you simply board the bus and take a seat (or stand). Once the bus starts moving, the conductor will miraculously navigate through the densely packed crowd, clicking his ticket machine or holding a thick wad of cash. When he reaches you, tell him your destination and say "Ticket ekak denna" (ටිකට් එකක් දෙන්න - ṭikaṭ ekak denna) to ask for a ticket. The fares are incredibly cheap, but it is highly appreciated if you give exact or small change ("Maru kaasi" - මාරු කාසි). Handing a 5000-rupee note for a 50-rupee fare will cause frustration! If you are standing far from the conductor, locals will naturally pass your money forward from hand to hand until it reaches him, and your change will be passed back the exact same way. It relies entirely on trust. Another vital cultural norm relates to seating. The first two rows of the bus are usually reserved for Buddhist monks (clergy) and pregnant women. If a monk boards the bus, anyone sitting in these seats must immediately stand up and offer them the seat. When you reach your stop, move towards the door early and say "Mata bahinna one" (මට බහින්න ඕනේ - maʈa bahinna oːneː), meaning "I need to get off." The bus might only slow down rather than coming to a full stop, so be prepared to hop off quickly!
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