Updated: 6:21am – There are revelations yesterday that some bus companies left it too late to install e-ticketing machines in their buses which resulted in no training for the drivers, and there are reports of about 40 machines allegedly sabotaged at the bus garages.
In a press conference of the government, bus operators and Vodafone Fiji, Attorney‑General Aiyaz Sayed‑Khaiyum has also said that some drivers are just refusing to follow the law and trying to do things to ensure that the e-ticketing system is not working.
It has also been confirmed that some drivers have decided that they do not want to work as bus drivers from yesterday.
Sayed-Khaiyum says some bus companies left it till Saturday to install the machines.
Sayed-Khaiyum has assured the bus travelling public that the Fiji Bus Operators Association will ensure that all issues relating to e‑ticketing will be urgently addressed.
After a meeting with the bus operators earlier yesterday, Sayed‑Khaiyum said that there were 0.03 percent complaints in the morning with more than 600,000 registered eTransport cards around the country.
Sayed-Khaiyum has told the bus operators that all the bus companies and drivers have to follow the law. More driver training will also be provided in the weekends.
Vodafone staff will also be at the main centres from today to address any teething issues.
There are also reports of drivers not allowing students to travel. All operators have been told to follow the law and allow students to board the bus even if they do not have eTransport cards.
If the machine is not working or there are issues with the card, then the passenger should be allowed to travel free in the bus.
Sayed-Khaiyum also says that the Land Transport Authority is investigating why the bus drivers were not stopping to pick up passengers from certain areas yesterday.
We have also asked the President of the Fiji Bus Operators Association Richard Lal on what they are doing to ensure that their employees follow the law and their directives to ensure that all students are allowed to board the bus, no overcharging of passengers, stop at the required locations to pick up the passengers, not to tamper with the machines and allow people to travel if the machines are not working.
Lal says they have had a meeting and they will ensure that these issues are fully addressed.
Lal says that they are also investigating why drivers were not stopping to pick up passengers in Makoi, Muanikoso and Narere this morning although they had a number of empty seats in buses.
They are yet to confirm why this action was taken by some drivers.
Most of the cases were driver error or dealing with bus operators.
-Fiji Village
