PARAMARIBO - Bus owners whose buses transport passengers on various routes recently criticized the decision to give hefty fines to bus drivers who pick up and drop off people at locations where there are no bus stops.
“We will reportedly get a fine of SRD 2,000 if we do not only stop at a bus stop but most of the bus routes do not even have bus stops. Must we only pick up and drop off passengers at the final bus stop so that they can walk back to their destination?”
A bus driver explained that the government introduces various measures aimed at handing out hefty fines without first addressing the shortage of bus stops. He acknowledged that some bus owners and bus drivers do in fact break the rules and that they also drive reckless thereby endangering the lives of others in traffic but that the Ministry of Transportation, Communications and Tourism (TCT) and the Ministry of Justice and Police (JusPol) should work together to create more bus stops. The bus owners complained that not all of the passengers like to wait for the bus at a bus stop and that some bus stops do not even have a roof to protect the people against the sun and the rain. The bus stops that do have a roof are often claimed and occupied by homeless people. The bus owners hope that the police will also take all of these factors into consideration. They also hope that the chairman of the Private Bus Owners’ Organization (PLO) will present the problems of the public transportation sector to the minister of TCT. An awareness campaign must also be launched to encourage people to wait at the designated bus stops and nowhere else.
