The Barbados Licensing Authority (BLA) on Thursday cautioned motorists using commercial licence plates (C plates) to operate public service vehicles (PSVs) to put the brakes on the illegal practice.
Against the backdrop of reports from public service vehicle (PSV) operators, Acting Chief Licensing Officer Treca McCarthy-Broomes said the BLA was working with the Transport Authority and The Barbados Police Service to address the matter, even as she warned offenders they could face stiff action.
“The Licensing Authority would like to inform all vehicle owners of Sections 5, 9 and 10 in particular of the Road Traffic Act. A person who knowingly submits false information in respect of an application to register a motor vehicle is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of $5 000 or to imprisonment, or a term of 12 months or both.
“Once the Licensing Authority obtains evidence that a person submits false information regarding the registration of the vehicle, the Licensing Authority may deregister the motor vehicle,” she said.
The Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT) confirmed that its Complaints Department has been receiving calls that some persons were using C plates not only to act as public service vehicles, but to operate hired cars and taxis.
AOPT Chairman Roy Raphael said it was not a new practice and suggested that the problem may stem from the number of pirate vehicles on the road.
“Yes, we have heard about it . . . . I’m hearing about situations where people hire out their cars with C plates numbers on them and use them as taxis. People now see it as a gateway of getting a public service vehicle without going through the right channels,” he suggested.
In September last year, the BLA introduced white registration plates with blue text carrying the letter ‘C’ for trade or commercial vehicles that are owned by companies, partnerships or sole proprietors who are using those vehicles to do business.
McCarthy-Broomes explained this includes “trucks, articulated vehicles, (container trucks) delivery vehicles, freezer trucks, hearses, panelled vehicles, pick-up trucks, which are single-cabs doing business, privately owned ambulances, tractors, trailers, and those vehicles registered as goods vehicles to conduct driving tests.”
She pointed out that PSVs are taxis, maxi taxis, route taxis, minibuses, tour coaches and hired vehicles which already have their own designated letters such as ZR, Z, B, BM and H.
Raphael urged authorities to consider changing the colours of the licence plates assigned to commercial vehicles and PSVs, saying it presents a security risk.
“Because a person can take one of those vehicles and run any route at night and pick up persons as well, and then somebody might say they only saw a public service vehicle picking up persons, because the plate looks familiar. People don’t normally look at the plate to see if it’s a C or Z or H or whatever, they just look at the colour of the plate. So I believe that the government needs to revisit the colour of the plate because it’s too close to a public service vehicle; or change our plates to another colour and allow them to carry their own colour because we won’t want to take any blame for any person behaving in a reckless manner,” he recommended.
The AOPT chairman further suggested that authorities could also tackle the problem by addressing the backlog of permits before the Transport Authority.
“We want the government to release the permits. Failing to do that, you will find that people are going to just run the route and flout the law. So I’m making an appeal to the Transport Authority and the Transport Board that even in our association, we have about 25 persons waiting to get on to the TAP [Transport Augmentation Programme]. Some of them have already purchased vehicles but cannot get a permit to operate legally. So, if you can’t get a permit to operate legally, then you will get persons operating illegally on the roads of Barbados,” he cautioned.
