Bus operators also have a story to tell

Dec 03, 2008 Letters

Dear Editor,
Every day, minibus drivers and conductors have to put up with some unscrupulous commuters who are bent on robbing them.
For some time now, the minibus association has been calling for the implementation of the law that says “Pay when you enter,” but the authorities seem not to be concerned. I get the impression that anything that affects minibus drivers and conductors does not matter to anyone, as they are all bad people in some people’s minds.
I am a driver of a route 32 minibus (Georgetown/Parika) and I bet my bottom dollar that every trip I am bound to get robbed by the passengers. Someone joins the bus in Georgetown; when they meet at their destination, they give you some money folded up small, so by the time you open the money, they are already gone. If you confront them, they say, “That is what we does pay.” It happens every day, but who will we complain to?
As a conductor or driver, you are forced to challenge some passengers to get the exact fare. At times, it ends up in a fight.
I heard a lot of talk about fare structure being displayed in minibuses, but I am convinced that whether the fare structure is displayed on not, we, as bus drivers and conductors, have to put up with it for as long as it lasts because some people are happy when drivers and conductors get robbed, or are locked up by the police.
No one has done anything to help improve the lives of bus drivers or conductors for almost 15 years.
Z. Hassan

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