With the new term set to begin on Tuesday for thousands of students, the island’s main public service vehicle (PSV) representative body is warning that operators will not tolerate fighting or any other bad behaviour on their minibuses and ZR vans.And the Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT) is calling on parents and guardians to play a greater role in ensuring their children are well-behaved.Mark Haynes, communications and information officer with the AOPT, said he was tired of receiving complaints of fights among schoolchildren on PSVs.“I call on the parents or guardians to encourage [their wards] before they go back to school, to be of good behaviour and conduct themselves like schoolchildren and avert some of these fights. We are seeing a lot of fights in recent times, especially with girls fighting,” he complained.“I think it has to do a lot with the homes in which these students are brought up. The parents have to speak with them and sensitise them that when they put
Ahead of the expected busy back-to-school period on Monday, police officials from the northern division are determined to maintain order at the Speightstown bus terminal.Head of the Northern Division Operations of the Barbados Police Service Assistant Superintendent of Police Janice Ifill and a team of 20 police officers took steps to ensure that public service vehicle (PSV) operators were in compliance with the road traffic laws and regulations.This, said Ifill, was in response to several complaints of traffic violations and lack of compliance among some privately-owned PSV operators.The exercise included random checks of operators to ensure their papers were up-to-date and that they were adhering to the required dress code while operating within the rules.
The head of the body representing owners of private transport has rejected the idea of government regulation of their routes and workers’ salaries.Responding to the suggestion made by a government senator, Chairman of the Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT) Roy Raphael told Barbados TODAY the sector would have to be heavily subsidised, similar to the Transport Board, before any consideration could be given to regulating pay.During his contribution to debate on the Road Traffic (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 2022 in the Senate on Wednesday, Senator Gregory Nicholls suggested that treating the public service vehicles (PSV) sector like a public utility where routes are regulated and even salaries set, could help to stamp out unsavoury behaviour exhibited by some operators.“They [PSVs] would be owned by private individuals but they would be run in a system where you could create an algorithm to determine how the vehicles are distributed across the routes to service the public. Like in
Frustrated by persistent public complaints about the lawless behaviour of some Public Service Vehicles (PSVs) workers, the owners will be taking a proactive stance by launching the Safe Bus Initiative in the New Year.Chairman of the Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT) Roy Raphael revealed, on Thursday, the organisation’s intention to embark on a campaign that encourages commuters to ride only on designated “safe buses” which will be identified by a special sticker.“These [operators] are people that will be trained and there will be a stamp that will be stuck onto the vehicle saying ‘catch me, this is a safe bus’,” Raphael disclosed in an interview with Barbados TODAY.“We hope that the public will come on board and that they will support it…. We can’t do it alone, we have to have everybody on board, which includes the public, the insurance companies, and all of those persons who have an interest in public transport. I think the time has come really for us to t
As the cost of fuel continues to increase, the Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT) is exploring alternatives and have teamed up with L&N Workshop in a pilot project to retrofit public service vehicles (PSVs). Communications and marketing officer Mark Haynes said they have to help owners continue to make a viable living in spite of this challenge. Our remit is to ensure that we reduce the gas bill wherever …