President of the Bahamas Omnibus Association Nicholas Jacques and Founder of the Public Transit Association Reuben Rahming are calling for this busing system, despite there being some disagreements on methods to achieve this.

Mr. Jacques claims that he represents most of the drivers in the industry, while Mr. Rahming?s organization is made up of the bus owners.

The two were on the Love 97 fm/JCNTV flagship programme "Jones and Company" which aired Sunday.

Last week, some bus drivers demonstrated on R.M Bailey Park and outside the Cabinet Office in hopes of getting the government?s attention about mounting gas prices.

At the time, Mr. Rahming said he believed the drivers went about the situation in the wrong manner.

During the programme on Sunday, both Mr. Rahming and Mr. Jacques agreed that there is disunity within the public transportation system.

Mr. Rahming said his organization PTAB wishes to create a community centred, Bahamian-owned and operated busing system. Formed three and a half years ago, this organization has been a driving force in the industry.

" We are not waiting for government, we have to take responsibility in organizing the way we do business," said Mr. Rahming.

PTAB is an organization with 168 registered buses.

Mr. Jacques said the idea of an umbrella organization came from the former administration, but it was never put into place.

"The former government saw fit to appoint a committee that I sat on and Mr. Rahming sat on responsible for inputting ideas to an umbrella system, which would have eliminated all of the ills that we experience today," he said.

Mr. Jacques said he believes a unified busing system would be better for the drivers and the government.

" If the driver works for that one company, he has no reason to race up and down the street because he gets his salary at the end of the week, a reasonable salary to take home to his family, he gets his vacation annually and he pays for his national insurance," he said. "The owner gets a regular income and the government and the public are happy because we would have a scheduled system. And this system was well on the way, all we had to do was implement it."

Mr. Rahming said he was not against a scheduled system. In fact, he said that PTAB had already designed one.

"We have been driving in one solid organized fashion," he said. "We have formulated that structure. We already have one organized fleet. Mr. Jacques said this was ready to launch under the former administration. So why is it that we just got a copy of a business plan just two months ago?"

Mr. Rahming explained that the system produced by PTAB comprises of a supervisor on each of the island?s five routes.

"We have designed a system and we have to look out for the employees because we are demanding things of them. PTAB has bridged that gap in that antiquated system and we have been doing quantum leaps in driving reform," he said.

However, he said the government has to be careful in creating an organized bus system.

"It is not as simple as the government trying to rip these businesses out of person?s hands and try to put them into a company. There must be a way to avoid shock to the system because these are tied to family. You mortgage your house with these buses and the government is going to pull that from you and say I am going to give you shares. What is that going to do for your livelihood? We have a 40-year experience where persons have been bringing cash to their house. You must wean people off this," Mr. Rahming said.

However, Mr. Jacques said certain members are not happy with Mr. Rahming?s perspective.

"Some of what he is doing is totally against my conviction, my beliefs and my philosophy or the government?s philosophy," he said.

Mr. Rahming said though there is another organization that represents bus drivers, he is more concerned that there is a busing system that works for everyone.

"You never heard me [complain] about someone else existing out there. PTAB is not a monopoly. PTAB is a cluster of individuals business that has formed itself to provide a service. But we do need to break the rat race that is on the road," he said.

By Kendea Jones