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
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