Public Service Vehicle (PSV) operators have been warned by chairman of the Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT) Roy Raphael that they must undergo mandatory training approved by the Transport Authority.
Despite newly introduced regulations aimed at reforming the public service vehicle industry, there has been minimal progress in operators stepping forward to undergo training and certification, he told Barbados TODAY.
In September, Acting Prime Minister Santia Bradshaw announced a series of reforms following several stakeholder meetings that underlined the urgency of addressing the industry’s long-standing issues. Emerging from this meeting, the new regulations stipulate that no person shall be granted a licence to drive a PSV or motor omnibus unless they have been certified in a service-related training course.
Raphael said that despite this announcement, little change has been seen from the PSV community since the regulation went into effect in October.
“We suspect that when the regulation is fully enforced, we should see a decline in the number of operators working in the sector because we now have to deal with 70 per cent of the persons not [operating legally] because they don’t have the certification,” he said.
“The regulation speaks to conductors who are ‘legal’ under the act, and all persons who conduct on public service vehicles; the law states that they should have the appropriate licence to operate as a conductor. There is a penalty added if you operate as a conductor without being regulated…. Obviously the law would be against them if a person refuses to pay them a fare because they are not legal conductors.”
Raphael said the training course is currently being conducted at the Barbados Community College at a reduced cost of $200. Despite this, operators have been slow to sign up for the course.
He stressed that as law enforcement and the ministry ramp up efforts to crack down on delinquent behaviour in the industry, several operators will soon find themselves without jobs if they fail to get certified.
The public service vehicle spokesman said: “We are going to lose conductors…. Right now there is a shortage of drivers and conductors, and we keep reinventing the wheel when we fire a driver or conductor [for infractions], and then they go and work for somebody else, creating more issues. We want to encourage the drivers and conductors to do the course. As far as we understand, it is not a hard course; it’s interactive, [and] all they need to do is attend the course, be certified, and then they have two years to recertify again as far as this programme is concerned.
“Do the right thing, [because] if there are any challenges, they will be able to stand up in court without being accused [of wrongdoing].” (SB)
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