Vandalism continues to haunt bus operators

The bus company is not alone in this. Most bus companies operating in the Central Division have had similar incidents with school children.

Lami bus services provider, Shore Buses Limited, has once again suffered at the hands of the same people they serve. Another new bus brought in by the company was vandalised. The company said this was now a common occurrence.

This incident happened on January 30.

Shore buses limited chief executive officer Jasper Singh said the driver noticed that one of the back seats was broken and rearranged.

“The bus was also smeared in graffiti with the words ‘QMB’ painted at the back of the seat,” he said.

“The cost of the trip was $300 and the damage sustained was $900.”

Last year, the company highlighted that school children cost the company close to $60,000 in damage.

The bus company is not alone in this. Many bus operators in the Central Division have had similar incidents with school children.

Last year, school aged children threw stones at the company bus damaging the rear window and also a student inside a bus had thrown a stone at the driver of the same company.

Shore Buses Limited operations manager, Aman Singh, said school children had been responsible for the most amount of damage to the bus.

Other bus companies providing services in Suva, Nasinu and Nausori said damage to the buses were mostly done by school students.

According to them, such incidents incurred extra costs of doing business.