PSVs group hopes legislation addresses indiscipline

Officials of the Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT) have welcomed the announcement that a new Transit Authority Amendment Act is to be laid in Parliament on Tuesday. They are hoping it will help to rein in any indiscipline in the island’s transport sector.
The new legislation, which was outlined by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Works and Water Resources, Santia Bradshaw at a weekend retirement function for long-time AOPT member Paul Frank, said it will be used as the blueprint to help guide the structure of the island’s transport sector.
AOPT chairman, Roy Raphael, told Barbados TODAY that though the association is unaware of the details of the legislation, he hopes the amendment addresses indiscipline in the sector.
“To make persons accountable is one of the areas we were very concerned about. The last administration wanted to introduce a one or two-strike discipline code, but we advised that it should have been three strikes rather than one or two.”
Director of Communications, Information and Marketing Officer, Mark Haynes, said that the indiscipline among some PSV operators has been unaddressed for far too long.
“It’s almost four decades that this bad behaviour was left untouched, and I think that it is timely that it should be dealt with. We cannot have a situation where you have a few persons who are very undisciplined, coming into the sector, and giving the sector a bad name.
“We have to be on par with our behaviour so that we attract, not only our local commuters, but foreign commuters. We do not want to have a situation where when persons come to the island, they are faced with indecent language, bad behaviour, inappropriate attire and having people with bad attitudes,” he said.
He said that despite the best efforts of the Transport Authority, whose mandate includes monitoring and regulating the public transport system, the regulations governing what they could do in response to deviant drivers had been weak for far too long.
“Right now in the law, the Transport Authority does not have the teeth to instil discipline as they would like to do. With the new changes as we understand it, teeth will now be given to the Transport Authority whose remit is to ensure that discipline is executed.”
He added: “You don’t want the government to be overly draconian, but of course it has to ensure that discipline is number one. I am eagerly looking to see how it all works out.”
Meanwhile, Raphael revealed that a new initiative from the association was being launched soon to help bring more disciplined drivers into the industry.
“The association is looking to roll out a new initiative which includes hiring an HR consultant to assist in the hiring of public service vehicle drivers. Right now we are in discussions, the minister is well aware of it, so hopefully in the next two months we should be employing this HR consultant who would work with the insurance companies and the PSV owners.”
(SB)