Recommendations for public transport

Sep 29, 2018 Letters

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Dear Editor
After much deliberation, I have come to the firm conclusion that for as long as bus operators have a chance to earn more than each other, we will continue to face the transportation woes with which we have been plagued for the last few decades.
If bus operators are paid a fixed monthly amount for transportation services, they would no longer feel financially inspired to do the five main illegal things they do.
The first of those things is speeding. Bus operators speed on our roads strictly to ensure they make the most money they can. This general culture of speeding we face locally, springs from the speeding culture enjoyed by bus operators involving illegal over-taking over double lines, illegal overtaking on turns, many other speed-related traffic offences and the high number of fatal accidents which put Guyana on equal ranking with war-ridden countries like Iraq – all because we have failed to regulate our transportation system satisfactorily enough to guarantee safety for our citizens.
The second of those things is overloading. Again, they do it for money. Overloading leads to a high level of discomfort among passengers and in cases of accidents, takes a lot more lives per accident.
The third thing is illegal stops. Bus operators stop abruptly sometimes in the middle of the road, on turns and in front of busy entrances.
The fourth thing is playing loud music. A bus full of tiny music-loving school children means more money than a bus full of grown-ups even when the children aren’t bullied into sitting on each other.
The fifth thing is using touts. Touts are used merely to ensure the bus gets packed faster and leaves the park faster – for more money. Touts can be seen all over Guyana pulling and tugging, especially at our elderly folks, cigarettes/weed in mouth, to get more passengers.
All these money-related illegal activities cause passengers extreme danger, discomfort and delay. We are not experiencing truly “public” transportation here. These buses are not only privately owned but privately run. There’s no authority to which passengers may turn for redress and operators are kicking them out for rightly protesting, politely or otherwise.
Except for price, all terms and conditions of the bus services we use are privately determined by each bus operator. But even the price is varied when an operator decides to either bully passengers for extra money (especially young passengers), charge more at night, give a passenger half a seat for the price of one, or place a passenger to sit in another’s lap.
I propose that all bus operators be paid fixed monthly sums for their services; that instead of cash, passengers use bus passes bought at accessible locations; that these locations then pass the proceeds over to a central body responsible for using it to pay out the fixed monthly sums; and that the central body be also responsible for exercising regulatory and disciplinary control over bus operators, for determining routes and hours of work for each bus, for ensuring no routes are abandoned after certain hours and for receiving complaints from the public.
This system would need to be either introduced in phases or introduced after considerable public notice to bus operators that they would, from a future date, not be allowed to work any routes unless they do so through the central body. They would need time to register their vehicles for approval and drivers would need to have valid driver’s licenses.
Research would need to be done to determine the best starting amount to be paid to each bus operator to cover gas, mechanical maintenance and profit.
With this system, passengers would not only feel safer but would actually be safer. Passengers would finally be given a full seat. Illegal stopping would fade as bus operators would be able to finally afford to only stop at bus stops and wait for no one.
Passengers would finally arrive on time at their destinations. The central body would have more control over what goes on in each bus, e.g. loudness of music. Passengers would be able to enjoy a silent reliable trip.
Touting would become obsolete. And passengers would be able to get on a bus and know that their next destination is not the next police station.
There are several industries that would flourish too. With less madness, tourism would see a direct benefit. Trade would also see an increase as people choose to use more public transportation rather than wasting money on too many old reconditioned cars.
The drivers affected by the new parking meter system would be more willing hop on a bus to save money. There is an infinite list of benefits.
This type of system is already generally accepted internationally. But our people are suffering. If legislation is needed, then let’s get cracking.
John M Fraser LLB

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