I was badly abused by a mini-bus driver because I spoke up

Nov 17, 2016 Letters

Dear Editor,
Often the blame is upon minibus drivers and conductors for their irresponsible behaviour on our road-ways and for their blatant disrespect for the laws of Guyana and lack of care for the lives that are temporarily placed in their care. But most of us are the ones travelling in such minibuses on a regular basis.
On Saturday evening (November 12th, 2016), I travelled in a route 48 mini-bus, licence’s plate number BVV 4627, and despite the comfortable interior of the said bus, the commute was quite uncomfortable, one that has since left me scared and unwilling to travel with public transportation. The conductor, after failing to seat a passenger next to another upon the latter’s firm refusal to share his seat, gave his place to the former. A few minutes after, ironically at the traffic light situated at the Parliament Building and a short distance from the Brickdam Police Station, the conductor decided to join the bus and sat in front seat between a female passenger and the minibus driver. Only problem is, except for a sizeable hump, there was no seat and the conductor was obviously uncomfortable.
I spoke out against what I was seeing urging the driver to say and/or do something as not only he and his conductor were breaking the traffic laws of Guyana, but they were endangering the lives of the conductor (who said it was his life and he did not care) and my life too, as he was seated awkwardly, directly in front of me thus endagering the lives of other road users. To my great surprise, the conductor proceeded to verbally abuse me, threatening my safety and calling me names all because he was angry at my decision to report the matter and my action of taking a photograph as evidence of the alleged lawlessness saying “police can’t touch me”. Greater to my surprise, Mr Editor, is the fact that two male passengers in the minibus joined the conductor in his abuse, and I was eventually put out of the bus, not much to my distress thereafter as I then realised that both the conductor and the driver were drinking beer.
I blame myself for the outcome of that evening as I now realise that I should have exited the vehicle at the Brickdam Police Station and reported the matter. But what was my evidence? Calls to Traffic Headquarters Eve Leary, Georgetown, went unanswered. There is more that I could have done, but I have not written this to reminisce on my “could haves and should haves.”
We, the public need to be outspoken when we travel with private transportation where the drivers and/or conductors of the vehicles we are in, are breaking the traffic laws, overloading the buses with more passengers than they are lawfully allotted to transport at any given time, speeding, ‘jumping’ traffic lights, playing loud music, putting passengers out, drinking and/or smoking and abusing passengers. It is simply not enough to be seated in mini-bus transportation and say to one’s self ‘it isn’t my problem’!
Speak up for your rights and defend others when they do! Mark the vehicles mentally and refuse to travel with them on other occasions. Let us send a strong message to these drivers and/or their conductors that we the people will not tolerate unlawfulness for if we continue to sit quietly, we are not only supporting and condoning the unlawfulness, but we will by our silence, contribute to the endangerment of the lives of the occupants of the vehicle we are in, and also other innocent road users. It is not enough to say the Police Officers should be on the road-ways more frequently to catch them in the act. Yes, they have a job to do and must fulfill their mandate, but we too as a people share a responsibility to speak up for our rights! I pledge to do better and speak up against lawlessness.
Cynthia Rutherford

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