The Ministry of Transport has received complaints that certain bus drivers play pornographic videos during the transport of passengers, Minister of State for Transport and Aviation Hope Strachan revealed yesterday.
The complaint comes as the Ministry of Transport is dusting off longstanding plans for the creation of a unified bus system, Strachan said as she headed into the weekly Cabinet meeting.
Officials from the Ministry of Transport held a meeting last week with jitney drivers and public franchise owners seeking support for the initiative and to address public concerns.
"We wanted to address the number of complaints that we get about the jitney drivers and how they operate their vehicles on the streets of New Providence, and we also wanted to hear from them about any issues they have with the Road Traffic Department and the ministry," Strachan told reporters yesterday.
In addition to the complaints related to the playing of pornography, public complaints regarding the public busing system also include the loud music played on some buses, drivers abandoning their routes and the inappropriate attire of certain drivers.
Strachan said that during last week's meeting the proposal for the unification of the public bus system was supported.
"For the most part they are actually going to support that initiative, so we hope to get that going in the next fiscal year."
The unified bus system was pushed by the former Christie administration, however, plans for that program subsided after the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) lost the general election in 2007.
There are about 500 franchise holders in the public busing system. The government is looking to bring all of those owners under one umbrella.
"It is a huge undertaking and I'm sure the cost involved is going to be enormous. We haven't really valued it," Strachan predicted.
She added that accounting firm Deloitte is engaged in an exercise to determine the value of each franchise.
"We have to know the value for the franchise owners so they know what is due to them, and the government knows what its financial obligations are going to be."

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