Passengers lose insurance cover when they use unlicensed “pirate” public transport, officials warned on Monday, as they urged both commuters and operators to comply with licensing and insurance requirements.
Chief Executive Officer of CG United Insurance and former president of the General Insurance Association of Barbados, Randy Graham, said the continued use of private vehicles to transport fare-paying passengers remains a serious concern to insurers.
“It is still an issue, unfortunately,” Graham told Barbados TODAY. “If you get issued a private licence under the Road Traffic Act, you are not allowed or permitted to charge passengers a fare.”
Drivers wishing to carry passengers for payment must first obtain the appropriate commercial licence from the Licensing Authority and secure the corresponding insurance coverage, he said.
“A private vehicle policy does not cover fee-paying passengers,” Graham said. “If you get involved in an accident while charging fares, neither the vehicle nor the passengers are guaranteed to be covered by the insurance policy.”
He noted that commercial licences and insurance policies are structured differently because taxis, minibuses and other public service vehicles spend significantly more time on the road carrying passengers.
“A private policy would not expect you to be on the road as frequently carrying passengers,” he said. “The cover does not protect injured passengers in the same way a commercial vehicle policy does.”
Graham urged operators to ensure they are properly licensed and insured, while encouraging passengers to choose registered vehicles when paying for transport.
“We beg the passengers to choose properly registered and licensed vehicles if they’re going to be paying a fee, because if they don’t, there’s every chance that if they get in an accident, the injury cost would not be covered by the policy.”
Chairman of the Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT), Roy Raphael, echoed those concerns and pointed to opportunities now available for operators to become compliant.
Chairman of the Alliance Owners of Public Transport Roy Raphael. (File Photo)
The government recently approved 150 Transport Augmentation Programme (TAP) permits through the Transport Authority, he noted.
“If you want to move passengers and provide a service for persons, go to the Transport Authority and apply for a permit to operate a vehicle,” Raphael said. “That way, when something happens, you are covered.”
Raphael also cautioned commuters against relying on pirate operators simply because public transport services may be delayed on routes that are not adequately served.
“People are putting themselves at risk,” he said. “At the moment you’re not looking for these things to happen, it happens, and then what?”
The TAP offers flexible payment arrangements for permits, making it easier for operators to regularise their services, he added.
“Make yourself correct. Stop putting little children and old people and other persons at risk,” Raphael urged.
Warning of the growing number of serious road incidents involving passenger vehicles, he added: “We’re having too many vehicles overturning, too many mass casualties. Do not find yourself in a vehicle like that where the driver has to run away because he has committed offences.”
(SB)
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