The government on Thursday announced a tough crackdown on student misbehaviour aboard public service vehicles following a ‘ZR’ route taxi accident that injured several Lester Vaughan School students, following urgent talks between education and transport figures.
Details of the plan were not made available, pending the approval of ministers.
The Ministry of Transport and Works, the Transport Authority, the Transport Board, the Ministry of Educational Transformation, and the Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT) agreed to implement what Chief Education Officer Dr Ramona Archer‑Bradshaw described as “practical and student‑centred solutions to improve the transportation experience for our children across the island”.
The meeting, which involved Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Works Santia Bradshaw, Minister of Educational Transformation Chad Blackman, and Permanent Secretary Kim Belle, underscored “the importance of inter‑agency collaboration to ensure that students travel safely, reliably and respectfully on our roads”, said Archer‑Bradshaw.
The discussions focused on both unsafe driving practices and student conduct while using public service vehicles.
“We came up with tangible initiatives that will be developed to address and reduce the instances of student misbehaviour while using public transportation,” the chief education officer said, noting there was “resounding support for the dedicated bus service” for schoolchildren.
But she stressed that enforcement would be a key part of the short‑term response.
“What needs to happen in the interim is that there needs to be law enforcement to support our efforts, greater law enforcement to support our efforts,” she said. “All the parties reaffirmed their commitment to working together to enhance the current transportation system and to explore innovative approaches that support the educational journey and well‑being of every child in Barbados.”
While Archer‑Bradshaw declined to reveal specific proposals before Cabinet approval, she said parents must play their part in correcting students’ behaviour.
“I want parents to talk with their children about their conduct on the roads, on the vehicles and at school. I really want the children to behave, that’s all. I want them to behave themselves, to operate as good, outstanding citizens,” she said. “The message I want to send to parents is, teach them the values, teach them how to conduct themselves on the road, on the buses and the vans, that is on public transportation, and at school.”
The education chief also urged the public to report misconduct directly to schools rather than only expressing outrage in the media.
“When adults see these things happening on the vans and in the buses, don’t only go to the media, make contact with the schools,” she said. “You can easily identify the children through the uniform that they wear. We need to be our brother’s keeper.”
Monday’s crash, which involved a ZR route taxi reportedly carrying students off-route, has intensified scrutiny of the public service vehicle industry. The vehicle overturned with 25 Lester Vaughan students aboard, prompting public calls for greater oversight and discipline. Immediately after the incident, Blackman called for an urgent meeting with the PSV industry.
Director of Communications and Public Affairs for the AOPT, Mark Haynes, said the organisation supported decisive action to prevent a repeat of the incident. “We do not want to see a replication of this incident,” he said. “It affects our students, it affects our workers, it affects all in the industry and by extension it is a matter that is of grave concern for the Barbadian public. The public has a right to be concerned.”
Haynes condemned reckless driving and called on operators to comply fully with the law. “This behaviour is reckless, untenable and unacceptable and therefore we are calling on the workers in the sector whose behaviour is unsavoury to please stop it,” he said. “We cannot afford to have this and we cannot allow a few people whose behaviour is unacceptable to ruin the workings of the organisation, to ruin Barbados’ laws, to ruin the society.”
He also urged operators to resist requests from students for loud music or unauthorised rides. “[Do not] engage them in it, point blank, simple. [Do] not engage them in it, deter them from doing it, encourage them to attend their schools and to get their learning,” he said. “We have to be head on with this matter, we cannot procrastinate.”
Haynes appealed to parents to speak calmly but firmly with their children about proper conduct while travelling.
sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb
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