Dear Editor,
The recent news of the plans of a businessman with a military background to enter the transportation sector via the importation of large buses to compete with the minibus operators is one which I received with mixed emotions. My family was one of the pioneers in the minibus sector and when it first started the Tata buses were being replaced due to their low levels of upkeep and maintenance. There was a great need and our family stepped up to the challenge of helping provide the much needed transportation for children and workers. The buses would fill as soon as we brought them out of the shed.
The reason I have mixed emotions of the news of such a substantial investment being made is that on the one hand customers will be able to enjoy a more spacious and professionally run operation that supposedly will no longer have the noise from the music and the unsafe acts of speeding on the roads. This customers will appreciate this improvement especially given the history of fatal accidents and destroyed hearing of customers.
However, this will reduce the current minibus operators’ ability to reap the full benefits of their investments. Currently the Granger School Buses have already begun to have a positive impact on the transportation sector by providing these aspects of safety, reduced noise and increased comfort. When the additional operator of these proposed large buses enters the transportation sector the further reduction in customers will increase significantly. Although this is a substantial improvement for the public transportation sector there is also an opportunity for current operators via their union to make substantial improvements to their operations, thus helping them maintain a presence on the routes where the space for the larger buses prove to be disadvantageous.
It is my belief that if the union and operators agree upon implementing speed governors on the minibuses that limit how fast the buses can travel and if they also strongly enforce the order needed to prevent the unnecessary overtaking to grab customers on the road, the safety of the transportation sector will improve substantially. It is hard to forget about the young school child that was killed due to such minibus overtaking.
As a community we are all aware that it is sometimes difficult to break old habits, but in the face of such strong upcoming competition from new large buses that could eliminate the need for minibuses it is important to quickly improve. In addition, the implementation of noise control adherence rules that ensure the prevention of damage to passengers’ hearing would also improve the safety and long-term competitiveness of the minibus operators. This could be accomplished by restricting the number of speakers allowed, controlling their power rating and requiring a specified placement. It is also worth mentioning that overloading should be curbed and eliminated to improve the comfort and safety offered to passengers.
By embracing these important changes the current high risk of regulations being implemented that are to the detriment of minibus operations and more favourable to large bus operators would be reduced. One further proposal that could be considered is the utilization of a uniformed workforce in the minibus sector so as to strongly establish the minibus presence as a professional and favourable contributor towards the transportation needs of the populace. A change of impression can be quite powerful and could increase the union’s bargaining power which will enable it to reduce the ability of new competitors to enter the transportation sector while also offering an opportunity to increase the profitability of the business. Afterall the competition has already reached the presidential level. Unfortunately it appears that if these considerations are not taken seriously unfortunately it may be just a matter of time before the minibuses are made obsolete and forced out of the business while reverting the transportation sector back to the large bus model of the past which is similar to when Tata buses were dominant.
Yours faithfully,
Jamil Changlee
