By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Staff Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

IN an emotional testimony about the kidnapping and rape of his niece, a former driver urged public transportation drivers to clean up the industry. 

Stakeholders engaged in heated discussion at a public transportation workshop on Friday to sensitise bus operators to public concerns.

The former driver urged bus owners and operators to report deviant drivers, adding that delinquent persons were destroying the industry.

He explained that his niece was kidnapped last year after taking a public bus, then drugged and gang raped for two weeks before she was found. He added that the case was still open.

The former driver said: “Now she’s in and out of Sandilands, she was a 14-year-old girl. A three point student who happened to catch the wrong bus. Every time I see my niece it brings tears to my eyes, innocent young girl, future gone. 

“You guys who are here, who are above board, and upright get on them set because they are giving you a bad name,” he said. “Them set who doing fool get on them, report them because today it’s my niece, tomorrow it’s you. They don’t discriminate.”

Joined by Road Traffic and Public Transport Authority officials, Minister of Transport and Aviation Glenys Hanna-Martin hosted the workshop, which featured sessions on customer service and traffic laws. Mrs Hanna-Martin announced the launch of a public transportation hotline to provide immediate response to concerns from motorists.

Major concerns levelled by the public included speeding and reckless driving; disrespectful behaviour and inconsistent route schedules.

“This dialogue,” said Mrs Martin, “indicates how complex the issue is. There are issues involving infrastructure, new highways with no bus stops, the issue involving a fragmented public transportation system with hundreds of individual franchise holders and their drivers and a highly negatively competitive situation. The problem was raised about education for some of these bus drivers on what the law is, as well as the public. There are concerns about passengers, sometimes passengers don’t want to pay their fares and that is an offence. There are safety issues.

She added: “It’s a good first step, it wasn’t that easy but it’s the beginning of a course of action that will be sustained and will continue with additional meetings and education. Clearly the public has concerns about the public transport system, and (Friday) we got an insight into the concerns that (drivers) have.”