The recent protest action by the Mahuat bus drivers has prompted increased police presence, daily, between 10 am and 5 pm, at the Mahaut bus terminal.
On June 1, 2012, the bus terminal was moved from its original location in Lagoon (Independence Street) to the area the East Bridge and the E.C Loblack Bridge. Bus drivers were then required to form lines and served on a first come first serve basis.
However, last week the drivers protested, citing unfair treatment since according to them, some drivers do not follow the rules to stay in line. Instead they try to solicit passengers who have already entered other buses.
But speaking on State owned DBS Tuesday, assistant superintendant of police Patrickson Albert, said that the police has increased its presence at the terminal to deal with the issue.
“At present we have two or more officers from 10 onward, but what we have noticed from 7 in the morning you have the bus drivers are busy they drop their passengers, they move back. But from 10 onwards, you find that they begin to park and come in line… so since then we have two or more officers from 10-5 pm” he said. “So we don’t want and can’t allow this to happen”.
He said that it is an offence to obstruct the route and for this offenders are charged.
‘And what you find is the bus drivers who remain in this line for a long and extended period of time, might find that this is unfair to them, and sometime last week they could not take it any longer, so they decided that they bock the road, but this again we cannot allow to happen’.
Albert also mentioned that there are model bus stops that actually assist the busses in front of them.
‘If you look across the Canefeild bus stop you can see models they assist others to load their bus…you go to other Pointe Mitchel bus stop there may be one or two drivers who after four they adopt the Mahaut style and this people will move further up from the Pointe Mitchel area”.
Albert added that it would be his dream “and my wish to have a parking terminal in Roseau…but that’s beyond me.”
Ticket time.
That is allu business we Isiah…next level
Where Blackmore he can fix this
I am glad he said point mitchel bus stop. So where is the bus stop for loubiere castle comfort and wallhouse? There are so many busses for point mitchel. The stop can’t hold them all so wat the hell they expect to happen?
That’s an important point, more bus will provide chances for bus drivers as well less walking to a bus stop for customers. The densely populated the area, the bus stops it requires. The task combined with bravery is to decide where to place these bus stops.
The bus drivers can overtake each other along the route and customers can choose which bus they want to take.
In this era, many people want to make a living driving buses. The problem is there could be too many of them and very little space to park.
This is something the government should look into. If there are many buses from Point Michel, and there are other buses from other villages, where are they going to park? They need to let off passengers and let on others. With this system, how could it be done quickly and in an organized manner so that they could return to get other passengers?
The present bus parking system appears to be inadequate. It delays the bus drivers and will obviously frustrate them. How long can they keep this up?
Roseau appears to be in dire need of a convenient parking terminal for buses with ample parking space. This would alleviate the present problem. If only it were possible to construct one ASAP – as soon as possible.
One thing i find is that when customers begin boarding the bus, the bus should have a limit to how long they can wait on the busstop. some buses wait till they are full so they end up staying there a whole hour of more…people get tired of waiting and opt for the bus which is passing by. a bus should not b allowed to wait till doomsday saying they waiting to full. Leaving town is no longer something you can do in an emergency of if u want to get there fast….its terrible to have to wait on a bus for a whole hour to take a ten minute drive………
It is too bad they are not government or privately-run buses by a corporation. That problem would not exist in Dominica.
For example, in Toronto, all buses are operated by Toronto Transit Corporation (TTC) which is subsidized by the government. Commuters do pay their fare and practically nearly every year the fare is increased by 0.5 cents or .10 cents if fortunate; otherwise it is 0.25 cents. The increase does not sit too well with Torontonians who do not like increase of anything. I am no exception for I reside here and feel the pinch of increases as every one else.
The point I am trying to make is that the bus drivers at the commencement of their trip to the main bus terminal and vice versa are allowed a few minutes stay at the terminal. It could be a few minutes or it could be 0.15 minutes. It depends on their schedule. They have a certain time to arrive at the bus terminal and to leave it. They are monitored by their supervisors. They are employees and are obligated to follow rules and regulations of the T.T.C. These days nearly everything is done through computers. The buses are bigger. I believe the future public buses will double-decker ones.
Dominica being progressive, the day may come when the DA government may have to implement this system. It certainly will eliminate bus-clogging, driver and passengers’ impatience and tempers flying with protests at the bus terminal.
Build a proper bus station n tht we help solved d problem
build a bus stop on the river it will look nice
I thought of first! lol. honestly, this would be awesome!
Additional space is needed. Do you have an idea where one could be built?
I couldn’t agree with you more Anonymous
I hope they read your comment and take steps..
allu ppl mad when u get in it u will no what to say
Typical Us, it`s like beating a Dead Horse there`s enough blame to go around but I will leave that to others. If we cannot agree amongst our selves, how else we can claim we moving to the next level? Only in our dreams!
If we need “Police” at a Bus Stop where the little children and adults wait for transportation to take them to work, school or home; well, Dominicans are out of control. What a shame!! But i think it’s more than just a Bus stop issue. It seem more like a finance/money issue. Because if there were enough money for people to spend, if the unemployment rate was not that high, if tax was lower, if the economy was brighter; then people would be traveling to and fro, and there wouldn’t be enough Buses to transport people. So please people!! BLAME IT UN THE SLOW ECONOMY! It’s only a handful of people in Dominica who have all the money, and they don’t take no Bus.
handful of ppl with no $ and they dont take no bus either. Dominicans need to take responsibility for our own problems and stop blaming others. How many lil boys on the streets riding bikes all day..how many women sitting @ home waiting on a man to give them $? able bodies doing nothing…Dominicans need to make their own opportunities instead of sitting around and blaming others for their lack of wealth. Everyone who comes here says we are so blessed and full of resources, cus we do..dominicans need to get off their asses…do like the asians n africans and come together…put together..and work hard together..instead of blaming those who have for what we havent got. Children need to understand the importance and value of education, discipline, courtesy, decency.. so when they grow up they may have a better chance at progress..instead of staying in the slave mentality of blaming the bofas or former masters or the rich or whoever. Emancipate yourself..
People should travel on who they feel comfortable with. Even if you are first in line and I don’t feel comfortable with you, I should move to bus 2 that’s how democracy works.
listen to the driversmthis is there daily bread and who feels it knows it,after you listen to these DOMINICANS then the goverment can make a move to resolve the problem,scaring them with police presence is childish,insensitive,dictorial,menasing and stupid,palay,palay palay,talk,talk,talk…..intimidimidation is wrong.
pathetic
th prime minister of dominica moved the bus stop . .no one dare to talk about that!!as usual regular folks put in deperation to earn a living.blocking roads and making noise do not work.there are enough bus drivers in dominica to create a ploitical block.elections are right there vote your interest.i promise skero and his goones would not be sending police!!!!!!!
I can count six police in this picture… tell me somebody is the situation on mahaut bus stop really that bad to warrant six policeman? and maybe more. I have been to other places bus stop where there is more people than we have in whole of Dominica and they don’t have so many policemen. Dominica is going No where in a hand basket…. lol
Admin: Please note that this is a file photo of the police who were there last week when the bus drivers were protesting. Mr. Albert said that the police presence has been increased to a minimum of two between 10.00 am and 5.00 pm.
It is time to raise the bar for both customer and drivers, raise standards and arrange a fair playing field for all, rules and regulation that can be enforced.
DRIVER responsibilities.
-Set up Driver’s association to discuss issues affecting drivers and provide representation to both government and customer groups
-Obtain licence to drive a bus from Traffic Department
-Obtain customer services training
-Maintain bus mechanically and presentation at all times
-No loud music, the bus may be yours, but the competition being so cut-throat you do not want your customers to go your competitors
-Must always look presentable and be prepared to show your Insurance liability certificate and your Traffic Department Number
-All buses must be painted in colours that represent the region that they are serving and state their destination at the front of the bus.
Custoimer
-Should have the right to chose the bus they want
Traffic Department
-Set up designated Bus Terminal mark according to region
-Set up BUS STOPS along the various routes so customer know to get on/off.
-Each Bus Stop should be named,
-Fares must be properly sign posted and publicly stated so everyone know what they are, thus avoid any confusion.
-Start and Finish service time should also be made public.
-Ensure bus driver are given specific routes to operate for fairness to all. Also a time period. Licence could be revoked if there too many complaints from customers or involved in many accidents or have many traffic infringements
-Ensure taxes are paid in full before renewal period
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
And what will the results be?
These are a few excellent directives. You should send a copy to the PM or his deputy or the minister who is responsible for overseeing/ monitoring those bus drivers.
Hopefully the drivers will be polite to passengers. I would think they should take a bus driver training course.
Passengers should have exact change which would make it easier for the drivers. This would reduce the time spent in making change. Consider the delay if the driver has to give each passenger change.
If this were feasible, passengers should be able to purchase bus tickets or a monthly pass. I realize the cost of printing them. As Dominica progresses, in time, this may be implemented.
Approximately 2 or 3 years ago (how time flies) as read probably on DNO Website, one morning a woman took the bus and gave the bus driver either a $50 or $100 bill. At that hour of the morning he did not have enough change. This created a huge problem, disagreement and war of words. Imagine the comments and many of them on the Website.
Are u a bus driver do u know how much is a bus today . My friend today a bus is between $107000.00 and $ 135000.00 the problem is not enough money made my the bus driver to pay those busses . My friend things T to the max very had for them I can tell u.
The bus drivers operate in a very competitive environment, therefore the activities that will exist be cut-throat and “survival of the fittest”. This is not necessary a bad system as it will get rid those that treat customers with disrespect, turn up in run down vehicle or inappropriately dressed, playing loud music.
people not suppose to choose the bus they want. they suppose to take the bus that in front so it avoid that same firt bus to wait for more customer, so they can move on faster and dont block the traffic. People is time to use ur commensens and leave your stupid mentality on a side. you busy to go home but you prefer to stay in that hot sun than to take a bus “you dont like”. So why all you taking bus for ???? for the bus driver you like ??? or to reach where you going ???? An if a bus driver give you any problem , just report it !!!
They may be waiting for a particular, favorite driver. Nevertheless, they really should take the first bus and fill it up so that it could move on. There should be some sort of organization and monitoring at that bus terminal.