Submitted by Nopolean Bonaparte
Have you tried catching a Transport Board bus lately? It is bare horrors. Should you be so unlucky as to have to rely on one of these buses as a means of getting to and fro, you would understand what commuters are experiencing daily. These buses are never on time whether you are in the terminal or en route there. Punctuality was lacking before to say the least, but nowadays it has reached a new low. We are talking about an hour or more in some rural communities like Sugar Hill, half an hour and beyond for the suburban.
What makes matters worse, is to see drivers engaged in games of dominoes at times with as many as six buses lying there just parked. It is alleged that the Minister had once made a surprise visit on hearing of these reports and saw for himself the goings on. We hearing that there are not enough buses as many are down and in need of repairs, however, one becomes more perplexed seeing buses traveling empty at peak hours and knowing that some communities cannot get one.
Could it be a scheduling problem then, whereas a time study is needed encompassing peak hours of traffic and the re-engaging of the ‘spy’ inspector, who used to be the Board’s man on the ground? Most definitely it would be a better use of monies than paying chauffeurs to be driving up and down empty buses. The obvious fallout of all this, commuters have no choice but to travel unsafely on uninsured minibuses. Could this be an intentional ploy, as it is alleged some bus drivers have interest in minibuses? More than the mortar in the pestle and definitely worthy of an investigation, after all, it is we the taxpayers monies being duped.
What about the call to privatize buses? By all means if such will bring about a turnaround with the situation. Tax paying commuters deserve more, not withstanding our ever increasing deficit. A private concern would not entertain all this nonsense knowing all is mostly being festered by a few fractured and dishonest chauffeurs.
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