LTA invites bus operators for discussions

The Land Transport Authority of Fiji has invited the Fiji Bus Operators Association to the LTA Headquarters in Valelevu in regards to the dangerous behaviour on their buses last week after the rugby match.

LTA says it hopes to take a collaborative approach with the Association and other stakeholders to come up with a strategy to prevent this behaviour in the future and protect Fijians travelling by bus.

The Bus Operators Association has called on LTA to stop vilifying bus drivers for the unruly conduct of passengers, such as that seen over the past weekend.

The statement comes after a driver was issued an infringement notice for failing to stop passengers who were rocking the bus from side-to-side.

Association General Secretary Rohit Latchan called on LTA CEO Samuel Simpson to focus on enforcing regulations against unruly passengers before it becomes problematic, rather than putting all the responsibility on bus drivers and operators.

Latchan says there is a lack of control by the police and a failure by LTA to stop passengers from acting dangerously, especially after big events such as the rugby match last weekend.

He says the LTA also expressed concern on overcrowding of buses, but no driver would deliberately and dangerously overload a bus.

Latchan says in this case, passengers were climbing into the bus through windows and onto the roof and the bus drivers were at the mercy of the unruly crowd.

He says bus drivers were already at risk of being assaulted, getting serious injuries and even getting murdered, so expecting a single bus driver to control the conduct of numerous passengers is unrealistic.

The bus operators say the law enforcement agencies should do better at protecting the travelling public by enforcing the law and standards of conduct by passengers while in public transport, rather than reacting through the punishment of drivers and operators.