Dear Editor,
Every industry, economic sector, requires regulation to protect society from bad actors who would break every rule to profit and continue their parasitic behaviour at the expense of consumers. Occasionally, however, regulation is taken advantage of because its penalties are inadequate or because predatory participants find and take advantage of loopholes with a fair degree of impunity.
Much has already been written about the ill behaviour of the touts and bus drivers who run rampage on the major bus parks, extracting tremendous financial cost and stress on passengers and law-abiding drivers. And indeed, the Traffic Department of the Police Force has been diligent and exerted much time and effort in a losing battle against these persons.
Touts especially continue to operate like organized criminals on the Route 40 Bus Park, bullying drivers and enlisting the assistance of recalcitrant bus drivers in frustrating the efforts of drivers who refuse to be bullied in their efforts to earn an income. These touts themselves are nowhere recognized in our legislation or regulations as legal operators. In fact, they are intent on not seeking meaningful employment, satisfied instead with living up their lifestyle of bullying drivers and passengers, who along with bad drivers, organise to take advantage of our school children, and occasionally an unfortunate school girl or two, simply because not enough is being done to regulate the affairs and activities across our bus routes, particularly the Route 40 Bus Park.
These touts need to be regulated out of existence, present and future, meaning that the fines and charges must be stiff enough to stop their lawless behaviour, and also predatory bus drivers who would take advantage of our school girls. The Ministry of Legal Affairs is urged to draft and pass legislation which imposes a five hundred thousand dollar fine and one year imprisonment for the first offense and one million dollars with three years’ imprisonment for subsequent offenses. Law-abiding bus drivers especially, passengers and our school girls and boys need protection from criminally minded persons daily terrorizing our system.
Finally, the Transport and Harbours Department which oversee our transport infrastructure should examine and conclude that all bus routes require and are allotted three or four supervisors per route, with job descriptions geared toward maintaining order on the nation’s bus parks, according to the time of operation of the various routes, since transportation extends well beyond regular working hours. These are specific job posts which can be designed with input of the Police Traffic Department. The sooner, the better, for our school children, passengers, law abiding bus drivers. The Police should also identify and expel or ban unscrupulous bus drivers who terrorize our children and passengers with their loud and lawless music.