Dear Editor,
For a number of years commuters have had to endure hardship at the Vreed-en-Hoop stelling just to please a few bitter Route 32 minibus operators. There are many wrongs being perpetrated by these operators who behave as if they are doing commuters a favour by transporting them to their destinations and forcing the commuters to travel in overloaded minibuses (some don’t have a conductor) on uncomfortable seats, where they have to put up with rude behaviour, the selection of passengers, overcharging, etc.
Editor, my main problem is that previously, minibuses used to take passengers right in front of the stelling. Now passengers are forced to disembark a good distance from the stelling because a few operators are claiming that when the bus goes to the stelling they can collect passengers without having to join the minibus line. That, to my opinion is wrong, but then again the condition of the buses and the attitude of the operators would deter anyone from travelling with them, especially tourists.
Commuters must be free to make their choice about what or who they want to travel with. What bothers me is that sometimes a parent might have children, including a baby, and they will have to either brave the hot sun or rain until they reach the stelling, because there is nowhere that people can shelter. Some minibus operators would express their anger when this happens, but they always claim that if they only go to the stelling, the illegal monitor who is there for the Route 32 buses would go and report them and they will be arrested, charged and taken to court, and they will either have to pay a fine or a bribe. I cannot understand who or when that law was passed, but it is not fair. The so-called monitor collects money from the buses in the line when they start to work and most times he attends to his news paper business whilst the buses have to figure out who is behind who in the line even although he is being paid to do that.
If the operators or those in authority have no intention of finding a remedy for this situation, I am appealing to them to show some sort of kindness and allow the buses to take the passengers to the stelling when the rain is falling, because one day someone might just decide to sit in the bus with their children until the rain is finished, and that might cause a confrontation, especially if the bus has to take passengers to other places. If the monitor does the job that he is being paid for, I don’t think anyone would be foolish enough to go there and break the rules when taxi and short-drop cars traverse the same area from which they are excluding the buses.
Yours faithfully,
Sahadeo Bates
