#BTEditorial – Tougher laws are good but enforcement is better

Time and time again, we have heard successive Governments speak about tough laws to curb the bad behaviour among Public Service Vehicle (PSV) operators.

We have heard ministers promise Bajans that the unruly and brutish tactics of the PSV operators would be handled and dealt with head-on.

We have heard that laws exist that allow for the suspension of repeat outlaws who work PSVs, yet some of the known offenders continue to ply their trade, carefree.

We have heard magistrates in the traffic courts get stern with some offenders as they mete out harsh punishments for infractions.

We have heard that the long arm of the law simply cannot reach certain quarters that would lead to the arrest of PSV owners where multiple offences have been committed.

We have also heard the Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT) state that the unruly element is in the minority and does not fully represent the entire sector. We have also heard them condemn the bad behaviour within their membership.

However, amidst all that we have heard and that which we know, nothing has brought about a change.

For nearly a millennium, we have individually and collectively lamented that so-called “ZR/minibus culture”. Some have witnessed the recklessness firsthand while others have seen photographs and videos. There have been countless complaints on radio call-in programmes, letters written to the editor, pictures carried in the media condemning the behaviour, and general national outcry.

There are some commuters who were bold enough to speak up, only to be maligned by PSV workers. In other instances, challenges to do better come from fellow PSV workers as well.

These realities cause us not to be jumping for joy when we heard Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport, Works and Water Resources Santia Bradshaw speaking in the House of Assembly on Tuesday.

The Minister said regulations that are soon to come will address the behaviour of PSV operators, permits and licences, and place greater responsibility on the owners of vehicles for the conduct of their drivers and conductors.

Bradshaw said: “The cry from the public is one that I don’t think that we can continue to ignore. The Public Service Vehicle culture is one that I think has been plaguing us for decades. My personal view is that we have to move to the direction where not only the regulations are introduced but we also have to take certain steps that there is enforcement.

“Because without the necessary enforcement, without the necessary steps being taken to ensure that people are on the roads to identify problems that are taking place on our roads and to report that to the Transport Authority so that action can be taken, the regulations will certainly mean nothing.”

We understand why the laws were amended and we get what the Minister is ultimately trying to achieve.

We completely agree that the issue can only be properly addressed with policing and enforcement at the forefront.

The laws become meaningless unless they are acted upon. The same can be said of gun laws. It is all well and good to bring tougher legislation to the table, but the laws will remain on the statute books forever unless we do something.

AOPT’s communications, information and marketing officer Mark Haynes, in response to the new regulations to come, said commuters and the general public had long grown frustrated with the actions of some drivers and conductors.

“Any law that is designed to curtail such activities, I warmly welcome once the law is fair, reasonable and just. There must be order, law and respect, and it has always been my organisation’s view, as well as [mine], [that] the commuters and general public have a legitimate right to complain about some of the unsavoury behaviour and activities that take place on a daily basis, which places the sector into … disrepute.

“The status quo cannot continue. It is unacceptable to have persons who do not conduct themselves in the best manner putting everyone under pressure,” he said.

Haynes added: “Those persons whose behaviours are unsavoury, if you are not interested in staying in the sector as serious workers, please leave the sector so that we would not have these kinds of problems which confront us on a daily basis…. It all has to do with discipline and a lack thereof.”

So, the principal parties have agreed that the pending tougher laws are justified. And, from what Minister Bradshaw and AOPT said both entities want the same thing: removal of the bad apples and an end to unruly behaviour in the sector.

For their sake and the sake and safety of the travelling public, we sincerely hope that these laws are followed by the relevant action. We eagerly look forward to the day that we can speak about the bad behaviour among PSV operators in the past tense.

We also place a level of responsibility on commuters. We need more Bajans to speak up and demand better while on board. The new law places more accountability on PSV owners and so we do.

More importantly, we hope that the long arm of the law will finally reach those quarters that seem to be untouchable and bring this ZR/minibus culture to a screeching halt.