Central Bus Stand, Pettah

The Central Bus Stand (CBS) is the main long-distance bus station in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Located in Pettah, it is owned and run by the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB). It connects Colombo to all nine provinces of the country.

The station opened in 1964 to bring all of the city's different bus services together in one place.

On 21 April 1987, during the Sri Lankan Civil War, a car bomb exploded at the station. The attack killed over 113 people and injured many others.

On 15 September 2025, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake started a major renovation project as part of the "Clean Sri Lanka" programme. The upgrade cost around Rs. 550 million and was carried out by the Sri Lanka Air Force. The project modernized the old buildings and improved facilities for passengers. The station reopened on 8 April 2026.

First Building: The ground floor handles bus arrivals and departures. The first floor has rest areas for drivers and conductors. The second floor holds administrative offices, a conference hall, and storage rooms. Second Building: The ground floor has shops. The first floor has public toilets and waiting areas. The second floor includes separate rest areas for visiting schoolboys and schoolgirls. It also has an information center for bus, train, and flight updates.

The station is open 24 hours a day and mainly runs state-owned (SLTB) buses. Private long-distance buses use the nearby Bastian Mawatha Bus Station. The station operates standard routes, as well as student services ("Sisu Seriya"), rural services ("Gemi Seriya"), and night services ("Nisi Sariya"). Main routes from the station include:

Northern Route: Jaffna, Vavuniya, and Kilinochchi. Central Route: Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, and Badulla. Southern Route: Galle, Matara, and Kataragama. Eastern Route: Trincomalee, Batticaloa, and Ampara.

Data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).