Sri Lanka ports switches to pedal power after fuel shortages

Sri Lanka ports started a free bicycle service on Tuesday, allowing workers to explore the facilities without using gasoline-powered vehicles, as the island nation suffers from acute fuel shortages.

The island nation is experiencing its worst financial crisis since independence, with the government unable to pay for adequate supplies of critical imports.

Motorists around the South Asian country are forced to spend hours or even days waiting for rationed fuel at gas stations.

The bicycle initiative was aimed at conserving petrol in the Colombo deep-sea container port, Sri Lanka Ports Authority chairman Prasantha Jayamanna said.

“We have built a cycle track along a disused railway line for those who come to the port to use cycles instead of other vehicles,” he told reporters.

The port in Sri Lanka’s capital sits on 469 hectares (1,160 acres) of land, with its longest road stretching four kilometers (2.5 miles) through the facility.

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Shipping lines operating through the port — located in the Indian Ocean, along the world’s busiest east-west maritime trade route — donated 100 bikes to kick off the initiative, Jayamanna said.

Despite Tuesday’s announcement, Jayamanna said the port was “insulated from the economic troubles” plaguing Sri Lanka, and was offering petrol from its own reserves to dock workers who were struggling to source fuel elsewhere.

“We are carrying out our work as usual as we have our buffer stocks of fuel,” he added.

Sri Lanka’s economic crisis was sparked by a crunch on foreign currency reserves that also left importers unable to source food, fuel, and other goods.

Rampant inflation, frequent blackouts, and long queues for essentials have made life a misery for the island’s 22 million people.

The government is seeking urgent assistance from the International Monetary Fund and has also defaulted on Sri Lanka’s $51 billion foreign debt.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been the target of weeks of public protests, with police firing tear gas to disperse a large demonstration outside his home on Sunday.

The crisis, according to Jayamanna, has had no impact on operations at the port, which gets much of its revenue in dollars and is still planning a $500 million expansion.

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