Price Regulation on Three-Wheelers and School Vans: A Recipe for Transport Troubles

By Gurubaran Ravi & Chanul Singharachchige

Price is fundamental in determining the manner in which market forces influence both patterns of demand and the chains of supply. Price is a manifestation of what economist Adam Smith termed the ‘invisible hand’ which naturally allocates scarce resources in accordance with the laws of supply and demand and requires near zero intervention. The question now lies: what happens when this unneeded intervention is implemented regardless? By manufacturing limitations around prices, the government disrupts the natural balance between supply and demand. With the government planning to introduce a series of price controls on the three wheelers , school and office transportation sector – upon which almost all of us rely – it is worth revisiting what the adverse consequences of such an act can and will look like, how they will most definitely exacerbate already existing problems, and finally, prevent the economy from finding its own equilibrium.

Essentially, price controls entail putting restrictions as to how high or low prices can be set for a certain good or service via ‘price ceilings’ and ‘price floors’ respectively. Conceptually speaking, the implementation of price controls is often for a given purpose, whether it be to control inflation or protect consumers, the government simply tries to artificially balance distortions within the market creating a great deal of uncertainty in the economy itself.

However, not all that is expected to come into fruition in theory can be seen in the outcomes found in objective reality. For example, despite the immediate benefits price controls may provide, they distort the natural dynamics of the market leading to unintended consequences such as supply shortages, the reduction in the quality of goods and services, and the prevalence of underground black markets. This tends to be because producers struggle to cover the costs associated with providing products at pre-established prices. The ultimate harm done to both consumers and producers through the implementation of such regulation – though often well-intentioned – outweighs any temporary benefits that may be reaped. 

Now, let us take a closer look at what the landscape of how the transport market for three wheelers in Sri Lanka looks like and behaves. Nowadays, three-wheelers, school vans, and office vans have become integral parts of the Sri Lankan transportation system – especially with the deterioration of the public transportation system. The three-wheeler segment comprises a significant portion of Sri Lanka’s transport sector with more than 300,000 three-wheelers in operation. These vehicles have made it possible for millions of people to have their means of private transport for daily use, particularly in rural areas and other hard-to-reach places. In the backdrop of an economic crisis, where operating costs become extremely high, the proposed price regulation policy is likely to jeopardize this important service. Such regulation could reduce the number of providers as the financial pressure on operators rises, the availability of transport decreases, and transport fares rise. This impact would be most severely experienced in regions where choices of public transport are already few, possibly leaving many with no affordable means of transport. 

The transport sector for three-wheelers is also mainly composed of individual operators, but recently a few companies like PickMe and Uber have utterly revolutionized Sri Lanka’s transport market. They have managed to heighten efficiency, promote route optimization, and enhance service quality, whilst simultaneously providing alternate employment opportunities for a vast and diverse array of people. However, any proposed regulations that stifle the freedom with which price can move will inevitably disrupt the market dynamics fostered by these platforms. Experts warn that such constraints will undermine the flexibility and efficiency of the sector, distort supply and demand, and potentially reverse the benefits of market-based pricing models. This could lead to diminished levels of availability of service, hindrances in the pace of innovation within the industry, and a rollback of the advancements made in respect to meeting needs of consumers – particularly those of low-income earners. 

The free market fosters levels of competition that incentivize providers to one-up one another at every opportunity. In the service-based industries – such as transport – this is best accomplished through the provision of high quality services at as low a price as possible in order to attract consumers. Therefore, if price controls are implemented on the three-wheeler, school,  and office transportation sectors, they stifle the capacity as well as the incentives that providers have to improve levels of flexibility and provide a variety of options to consumers, particularly affecting low-income individuals. These price controls also significantly enlarge an industries’ reaction time – and hence inefficiency- when making adjustments in respect to pricing and supply when faced with fluctuations in economic conditions such as shifts in the levels of inflation or a fuel crisis. Experts in the field have shared similar concerns, emphasizing the fact that while these regulations may be passed in order to provide temporary relief to a select few, they risk the destabilization of the entire market and jeopardize the efficiency of the entire market system.

However, it is impossible to turn a blind eye to the fact that there are certain factors that are crucial to these price controls. The government has to consider how it will be able to oversee and regulate thousands of independent operators across the country, especially in a sector that is as fragmented as the transport sector. The adoption of such regulations would likely require a high administrative cost, which would likely shift attention from other important sectors. Moreover, given the fact that the three-wheeler, school, and office transportation sectors are composed of many small participants, it remains doubtful whether such enforcement can be achieved in the first place. For instance, it may be hard to enforce compliance in rural regions and in urban regions with dissimilar levels of economic development. This may lead to a situation where only some or even a part of the controls are being implemented, thus aggravating and distorting the market more than it is at the moment. The efficiency of these measures is furthermore rather questionable, which leads to questions of whether or not these measures can be implemented without causing more problems than they are solving.

However, the three-wheeler, school, and office transportation sectors are far from the only sectors that have known the weight associated with the adverse consequences of price control implementation. It should be highlighted that LP gas, cement, bread, rice and eggs, have all been subject to similar limitations. These policies have frequently caused significant market distortions. In 2023, in order to combat a sharp rise in the prices of eggs, the Sri Lankan government made the decision to impose price controls on eggs. Despite this intervention aiming to resolve the dilemma, it instead devastated the industry and led to severe shortages in the supply chain with producers failing to sustain costs. The restrictions on LP gas and bread supplies appear to have influenced supply chain disruptions and market fluctuations. Moreover, there is news that cement may be the next to be affected by further price regulations, which will exacerbate the situation in the building and construction industry. Such stopgap regulations impair the normal functioning of free market economics, send misleading signals to actual price factors, and cause more instability in the economy, by providing only short-term relief while exacerbating long-term structural issues.

While the debate around price controls is critical, it raises a more significant question: The public transport system needs to be improved based on the government’s long-term vision of how it plans on fixing the system’s problems. While exercising the price control mechanism may give some relief to commuters and public transporters in the short run, it cannot address the structural issues that are inherent in the public transport system in Sri Lanka. The real solution is to create an integrated plan to upgrade public transport infrastructure and to improve service delivery so that the public transport system becomes the first choice of the transport user. In this regard, it would be possible for the government to ease the burden from the private transport sector, including three-wheelers and school vans, etc., and thereby develop a more balanced transport system. The provision of mass transit systems offers not only the purpose of decreasing reliance on private automobiles but also social justice, optimum resource utilization, and preservation of the earth.

On a more conclusive note, history teaches us a clear lesson: the fundamental importance of allowing prices to reflect supply and demand naturally simply cannot be understated and any intervention in this intricate relationship can have dire direct and indirect consequences.While interventions like price controls may provide temporary relief to a select few, they often just exacerbate already convoluted issues when considering the longer term.  A free market system is pivotal in order to maintain economic equilibrium where efficient resource allocation can be best fostered. In such a system, it is price that serves as the principle signal to guide both consumer and producer behavior. The self-regulating nature of this system not only promotes innovation and competition but helps mitigate market distortions that may arise from intervention or excess regulation.