Fiji Sun

Inbound operator lauds LTA digitisati­on

- WAISEA NASOKIA Feedback: waisean@fijisun.com.fj

The Society of Fiji Travel Associates (SOFTA) has pledged its full support to the Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) position to go digital with its products and services.

SOFTA president Beatrice Nast made the comment during the LTA Public Consultati­on in Nadi yesterday.

She applauded the stance, that digitisati­on is critical to reducing time and wastage. Ms Nast said it was mandatory for the LTA to digitilise because it would shape the future for its customer service.

Ms Nast also added that there was a big need for a full-time Passenger Service Vehicle (PSV) officer to be based in their Nadi office rather than customers having to go to Lautoka.

“Nadi is the hub, and it is important to have a PSV officer based here full-time rather than going to Lautoka,” she said.

Pehicle Tours director Nobuyoshi Tada said an inclusive approach was to enhance design to capture the diverse perspectiv­es of the community, ensuring that the services provided by LTA truly reflected the needs and expectatio­ns of the people.

“As an operator in this age we want a platform put in place ways to access the services, when we log in,” he said.

“This will be great to track some of the services used by LTA. Also less paperwork, simply we want a hassle-free situation.” Rosie Holidays operations manager Sunil Kumar said going online could bring peace of mind to operators.

He thanked LTA for conducting meaningful connection­s through community engagement­s on the authority’s role and services.

Protection

Taxi driver Mohammed Arshad Ali has

called on the authority to come up with ideas to safeguard drivers.

“We are at the critical time, we are looking at least something like a pepper spray or teaser to be used when we are under attack,” he said.

“We will not use it unnecessar­ily.”

Base system

Rosie Holidays operations manager Sunil Kumar said going online could bring peace of mind to operators.

Taxi driver Faiyaz Khan has called on LTA not to bring back the old base rank system. He said as a group of operators in Nadi, they readily agreed to be charged base-fee by the Nadi Town Council.

“We do face some sort of prejudice with other taxis and also the private car who continuous­ly attack us,” he said.

 ?? ?? Faiyaz Khan and Mohammed Ashwad Ali during the LTA Public Consultati­on in Nadi on February 1, 2024.
Faiyaz Khan and Mohammed Ashwad Ali during the LTA Public Consultati­on in Nadi on February 1, 2024.
 ?? Beatrice Nast. ?? Society of Fiji Travel Associated (SOFTA) president
Beatrice Nast. Society of Fiji Travel Associated (SOFTA) president
 ?? ?? Pehicle Tours director Nobuyoshi Tada.
Pehicle Tours director Nobuyoshi Tada.

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