Bad roads not an excuse : LTA

Poor road condition is not an excuse for bus operators not to provide services to the public, says LTA spokesman Iliesa Sokia.

Mr Sokia was responding to M Janif Buses Limited boss Abdul Azim who said the poor road surface made it difficult to run a successful bus service.

“We service all of the rural areas in Tavua and sometimes it gets really difficult because we have to drive through some very difficult areas,” Mr Azim said.

“When it rains, it gets worse because the gravel roads become slippery and we have to make the decision whether we send our buses out or not.

“It’s difficult for us to stop our buses from running in rainy weather but we have to do it and we put our buses and our drivers at risk.”

He said the safety of passengers was also considered when the decision was made to stop a scheduled run.

However, Mr Sokia said poor road conditions should not be blamed.

“It’s a totally separate issue that does not involve providing bus services to the public,” Mr Sokia said.

“That is out of our hands. What the operators need to worry about is ensuring they provide services to their customers and that all of the buses are running on routes that we have authorised them to service.”

Meanwhile, 40 students in Tavua did not attend school last Thursday after refusing to board the bus for safety reasons.

This was after an accident involving school children from Tavua on Wednesday afternoon which has raised concerns about the condition of buses that service the area.

 

BY FIJI TIMES