THE RECKLESS DRIVING of bus drivers has once again received the attention of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Tourism (TCT). This has expressed deep concern about the many violations committed by drivers: dangerous overtaking, racing for passengers and ignoring traffic signs are just a few of the issues mentioned. According to TCT, this cannot continue and stricter inspections will be carried out and permits may be withdrawn. In collaboration with the police, action will be taken against drivers who flout the rules.
However, anyone who follows Surinamese public transport knows that successive governments have been trying fruitlessly to tame the bus sector – and especially its out-of-control drivers – for at least thirty years. So this umpteenth threat has fallen on deaf ears and was probably received with derision by the drivers.
“The recent appeal to ‘personal responsibility’ is naive in that context. As long as the chance of being caught is virtually zero, warnings remain empty words”
Although the driving behavior of many bus drivers is one of the biggest annoyances for many road users and is often complained about, the police are far too ‘weak’ in the eyes of society; If a driver is stopped because he tries to avoid a traffic jam on the cycle path, he will at most receive a fine. It would be much more effective if the bus were seized on the spot and the permit was revoked. That sends out a deterrent signal.
There were once grand plans to organize the sector. We remember the introduction of the driver card and strict screenings in the 1990s. It turned out to be a paper tiger; cards quickly became an administrative formality. The showpiece followed around the turn of the century: the restructuring and privatization of the sector. Drivers would become employed, which would immediately stop the cutthroat competition and the associated ‘race wars’. What remained was a reality in which the chaotic permit system continued to exist as an instrument of political favor.
It seems like there has been war on some routes for years. Look at the PL route (Paramaribo-Lelydorp) or the PO route (Paramaribo-Onverwacht), where dozens of buses fight for the same passenger. The cut-throat competition on the PL route is visible every day: buses race, stop at the most impossible places and even drive over (moped) cycle paths to be the first to reach the next group of travelers.
Nowadays, many parents no longer consider it responsible to let their children go to school by bus for fear of accidents that could happen. You can’t blame them, even though there are many drivers who do take their responsibilities. But the entire sector must come together to regain trust among the traveling public. So in fact self-regulation.
Because the chance of this happening is very small, it is a must that the authorities (TCT and Justice and Security) will take their work seriously. It recent occupation in that context, focusing on ‘own responsibility’ is naive. As long as the chance of being caught is virtually zero, warnings remain empty words. What is now urgently required is permanent and unrelenting enforcement on the streets, whereby immediate withdrawal of the permit by the police becomes the norm and not the exception. Otherwise, citizens will continue to suffer from a government that barks but never bites.
