By Shamar Blunt
Chairman of the Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT) Roy Raphael is calling on the Government to enact stronger laws that hold commuters accountable for encouraging unruly behaviours while using public transport.
Raphael, who spoke to Barbados TODAY on the introduction of the new Transport Authority (Amendment Bill) brought to Parliament on Tuesday by Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Santia Bradshaw, said that while the new legislation is aiming to curb the unsavoury behaviours among some public service vehicle (PSV) operators, more attention needs to be paid towards the commuters who encourage them.
“Sooner or later the bill will have to address the behaviour of the passenger on the roads of Barbados, which contributes largely to the behaviours of the PSV operators. The minister spoke to the fact that there will have to be public education for everybody to understand their responsibilities, but I am saying that the public needs to understand that we need their cooperation.
“We need the public to understand, when they go to North America they comply with the rules; when they go to Canada they comply with the rules; when they come to Barbados they encourage us to get reported and go before the court,” he insisted.
Raphael noted that the unlawful habit of passengers stopping buses in areas other than bus stops, encouraging the playing of loud and explicit music while in transit, and other infractions, have, in his mind, contributed heavily over the years to the disorderly behaviour often seen in the PSV fraternity.
He stressed that the sector “cannot continue in this way”, and that passengers must also be held accountable in the same way operators in the transport sector are.
The amendment introduced on Tuesday makes provision for the Transport Authority to hold responsibility for issuing, suspending and cancelling the licences, permits and badges of drivers and conductors of PSVs, motor omnibuses, minibuses and route taxis. Currently, the regulatory body issues the permit approval letters authorising vehicles to be used as PSVs while the permits are issued by the Barbados Licensing Authority.
Raphael emphasised that police officials in the past have used heavy-handed approaches to deal with passengers who use ‘pirate’ vehicles that ply routes without a licence, and in his opinion, such an approach should be used towards persons who refuse to comply with regulations that govern public transport use.
“We had a situation where we had some operators, who we call pirates, used to pick up people on the road and the police used to report them and some of them would go before the court. The driver would get charged for operating a vehicle other than a public service vehicle.
“One police officer decided one day to stop this [pirate] on the road and report the passengers, not for driving on an illegal vehicle, but for not having a seatbelt on which is required by law, because that was not a public service vehicle, it was a private vehicle. Every one of them had to pay a fine of $500, so you know they are not catching those vans no more. You have to make these people accountable.”
The AOPT president stressed that the association stands committed to cooperating with government agencies to help bring law and order back into the sector.
“We are going to support all operators who comply, but those persons who continue to create issues for us, we are going to say to them that the law is going to come after them sooner or later. It cannot be business as usual. We are prepared to work with the ministry to ensure that our passengers are safe and those persons who operate the vehicles are also safe.
“The owners need to take stock of their business, and stop allowing these people who have no future in public transport, to create a dent in their business.”
shamarblunt@barbadostoday.bb
