Some van drivers, conductors get personal rewards

Tue Jan 28, 2014

Editor: I read with interest and amusement about Mr Bacchus, a van owner and president of NOBA asking for his fellow van men to charge the correct fare. I do agree that some vans are under charging, while in some areas some short drops are not regulated. Thus different prices are charged depending on the van.{{more}}

While the aforementioned is indeed a problem, would the pleading by Mr Bacchus for a unified effort by all vans to charge the same fare be a reality? Your guess is as good as mine. Don’t be fooled, many of these vans that undercharge and in some cases allow passengers to travel free regularly are not owned by either the driver or the conductor.

The reality is that some van conductors and sometimes drivers are getting personal rewards from passengers, especially college and school girls. Many of them are getting free rides in exchange for sex from these conductors and van drivers. Therefore, because of their sexual relationships, they many times are powerless to charge these students and sometimes adults, the correct fares. If you notice these vans are sometimes the popular ones for the school children and college students for they can pay any amount for fare.

So in passing, do you see why there would always be a rise in the HIV/AIDS population in this country? It is unfortunate that not many would heed the advice given by Mr Rolin Stapleton in terms of refraining from sex and also protecting themselves.

Besides that, it is a competitive business and so many vans, while competing with others would seek to charge a lower fare in order to build up patronage. Therefore, it is for the president of NOBA himself to summon a meeting with the van drivers and owners along with the conductors, to address this problem in a sober way and arrive at a unified decision. Failure to do so, there would always be unfair competition.

Kennard King