By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

HEAD of the Public Transport Association of the Bahamas Rueben Rahming said yesterday he supports the new public transportation complaints hot line, but hopes the government protects the bus drivers as well as members of the public.

Mr Rahming’s comments came after Minister of Transport Glennys Hanna Martin announced the creation of the hot line aimed “to facilitate complaints involving public service transport and the jitney service in particular”.

In a press statement Mrs Hanna Martin said: “If you see a jitney being driven in a dangerous or reckless manner or if you have any complaint about your riding experience call the road traffic hot line at 322-7623 - 322 ROAD. Help us to ensure that the jitney system consistantly meets the highest standards in our country.”

While acknowledging that some bus drivers have given the public service “a bad name”, Mr Rahming said he hopes the hot line is not “abused” by the public and the rights of bus drivers are protected.

“The Minister and the Minister of State understand the rights of the individual and the public and of course they want to protect the public and operate with their best interest. But who will protect the interest of the bus drivers?,” Mr Rahming said. “I am confident that the Minister and those who man the lines will operate fairly and effectively but I also hope they understand the nature of the situation bus drivers face.

“The truth about the current situation is some of the roads are narrow and some have a poor struture. I hope the end result is to bring about change to the public service. The problem is just not with the driver, some of the problem rests with the passengers as well. Some people don’t know how to catch the bus and worse are some of the things the drivers go through. I feel the hotline will prove itself and whatever can be done to ensure that persons are not malicious and ignorant. I hope will be done. This is the livelihood of people we are talking about. This is a very serious matter. But I will give it an opportunity to see if it works.”

Earlier this month, Mrs Hanna Martin engaged stakeholders in a heated discussion at a public transportation workshop to sensitise bus operators to public concerns.

“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.”