JaRistotle’s Jottings | Bobby lick him head

I don't know what Transport Minister Robert Montague's 'obeah man' uncle gave him to drink last week prior to his sectoral presentation in Parliament, but what is apparent is that it mek him head tek him. His stated intention to open all public transport routes to competition to "allow all who wish to be licensed to be licensed" is a no-brainer: him lick him head!

Let's try to understand the possible motive for such a proposition. Never forget that he is a politician whose primary focus is votes. His utterances may well be intended to sow seeds of hope for many a 'driver' who want to bus-out in the taxi business but can't get a licence. By buttering them up, voter support is better guaranteed, whether or not his plan comes to fruition before the next general elections. His added comments regarding "a six-month consultative period" further cement this strategy of buttering up desperate voters; inciting hope garners votes.

 

REALITY CHECK

 

Let us refresh ourselves on the status of our public transport system. We are well aware of the dangers women face from men posing as taxi drivers, and we want to make it easier for more predators behind steering wheels to prey on our women?

We have a $7-billion-plus loss-making publicly owned government-run bus company that must utilise formally trained drivers and adhere to scheduled routes and defined stops that is competing with privately operated taxis that are not held to the same operating standards. And we want to unleash more predatory competition upon them?

We have an excess of vehicles pressuring our not-so-wholesome transport infrastructure. The scope for accidents on overcrowded roads is already unduly high, moreso with the current numbers of undisciplined and often incompetent taxi drivers, and we want to unleash more hustlers behind steering wheels?

Policy dictates should be able to pass the odour test; this proposal reeks.

Minister Montague, my suggestion to you is to focus on the retraining and rebranding of the existing crop of taxi drivers before adding any more to the flock.

 

COUNTERPOINTS

 

As for Mikael Phillips, the opposition spokesman on Transport, his response does not focus on the ridiculousness of swarming our roads with more undisciplined and less-than-competent drivers, but on the semantics of routes. Nothing in his rebuttal reflects adequate concerns about the increased dangers to the commuting public; one can only assume that to do so runs contrary to the philosophy of vote garnering since he could be perceived as ignoring the needs of potential voters.

 

NOT ALL BAD

 

Recently, following a fatal two-vehicle crash on the Old Harbour Road where the drivers concerned had a combined total of 62 outstanding traffic tickets, the previous portfolio minister lamented that "the methodology of determining competence before road licences are granted needs to be reviewed".

Minister Montague's declaration that the licensing and inspection regimes for drivers and vehicles is to be further automated is thus quite timely. For instance, the idea of mandatory presence of a vehicle on the compound within a special geofenced area for the automated printing and issuing of a certificate of fitness is excellent.

However, the human factor is integral to these processes. People examine potential drivers to determine competence, and people inspect vehicles to determine roadworthiness. This is where the emphasis should be placed: quality guarantees. Every such examiner should have a unique code that is reflected on all drivers' licences and fitness certificates as part of an accountability trail, a key factor in the paradigm of good governance.

Not everything that is good for politics is good for us. Change course, Bobby.