THE Association of Public Transport Operators (APTO) remains willing to work with Government to address the island’s transport demands.
However, said APTO president Morris Lee, the organisation was not consulted when the Transport Authority put three new ZR routes into place.
“We have received some complaints that the routes are not viable. New routes should not be issued unless you rationalise the industry with the intention of shifting away operators from an overpopulated route to an underpopulated one,” he said during a telephone interview yesterday.
Lee said the new routes were put into place “two to three months ago”. He said one route was to Fairy Valley, one to Bibby’s Lane, and the other one was a cross-country route.
“We were only notified after the routes were put into operation. We hope in the future the authority would give consideration to a rationalisation of the overall routes as you need to know what is the demand for transport and what is the best way to address it with the resources at hand, and we are willing to work with Government to achieve this,” he said.
Lee also mentioned the APTO hotline – 228-APTO (2786) – which he said was being used by the public to make complaints and give compliments.
“This is an opportunity for the public to help us deal with indiscipline. We will be reviewing it in two weeks’ time,” he said.
Concerning the new school term, which starts in a few days’ time, Lee said public service vehicles (PSV) were ready.
“We do not have anything new to put into place for the new school term as we have an adequate amount of vehicles to serve the school populace,” he stated.
Lee said it was the continuing aim of APTO to ensure that PSVs provided the “best possible conditions” for students so they arrived at their destinations in the correct frame of mind.
He said one way to do this was through the APTO Seal of Excellence, given to select drivers who displayed the right attitude and discipline. He said any driver interested in receiving the seal first had to be screened. (CA)
