Police urge passengers to report minibus fare overcharging

Passengers who are overcharged by minibus operators are being encouraged to report the matter to the Police so action can be taken.

The call came from Police Inspector Roberts, Officer-in-Charge of Traffic in Region Three, during a recent episode of ‘Road Safety and You’.

He said commuters should make a note of the vehicle number and report the incident to the nearest Police station or any Police rank on duty.

“To passengers, if you encounter a situation like this where the conductor or the driver overcharge you, you can make a note of the number, you can use your phone, flash it and report it to the nearest police station or any police on the road. Just stop them and give them and the police will take action,” Inspector Roberts said.

He also reminded operators that failing to display the approved fare structure is an offence.

“If you fail to display the fare structure, you could be charged for it, but yet when passengers from time to time encounter a situation like that, you have to report it to us so that we can take action,” he explained.

According to Inspector Roberts, Region Three has had issues with fare irregularities in the past, but Police intervention has led to improvements.

“We are seeing improvement with the fare structure… So I am imploring on the passengers, when they experience problems like this just report it to us and we will take action,” he said.

However, he noted that with these matters, enforcement is usually hampered when passengers who make reports do not attend court after charges are laid.

Overloading in public transportation, particularly minibuses, remains a long-standing concern.

“We are imploring on the bus drivers… please be professional to your passengers… provide a good service,” Inspector Roberts urged.