A spokesman for Public Service Vehicle (PSV) operators is supporting the Barbados Transport Authority and Minister of Transport Michael Lashley in their proposal to revoke the licences of drivers found guilty of driving recklessly on the island’s roads.
Roy Raphael, chairman of the Alliance of Owners of Public Transport Operators, voiced support for the idea this afternoon as he expressed concern, during a Barbados TODAY interview, about a video circulating on social media showing a minibus being driven recklessly as it headed in the direction of Speightstown, St Peter.
On Tuesday June 9, a ZR van overturned along Nursery Drive, The City, injuring 21 people, including close to a dozen school children.
The scene at the June 9 Nursery Drive accident.
Raphael said such incidents, along with consistent complaints from commuters about PSV drivers, were unacceptable and unjustifiable.
“As it relates to the video circulating out there, I believe the Transport Authority should do a thorough investigation into the matter and that they do the right thing. Those matters ought to be investigated,” he said.
He also suggested that owners, whose drivers were caught behaving in a reckless manner, should be warned.
He said it was the responsibility of owners to investigate the background of people they were allowing to drive their vehicles before handing over the keys.
However, Raphael said he believed owners should not be punished for the actions of drivers.
“You might have a situation where a driver knows that if he goes down the road and drives recklessly, your permit can be suspended or can be canceled.”
He said it was agreed at a recent meeting of the joint committee of the owners and operators of public transport that the Transport Authority, as a regulatory body, needed to meet with operators to discuss this urgent problem, among other issues.
“We need to sit together as operators, owners and regulators. It doesn’t make any sense people fighting against each other. You would find that somebody might call the Transport Authority, make a complaint and then they never know if the person was disciplined,” he remarked.