Vehicles ‘fit to carry children’ needed, PM

THE EDITOR, Sir:

An urgent open letter to Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

IT IS with a deep sense of concern and urgency that I write this public letter to you, both as prime minister and chairman of the National Road Safety Council, seeking your immediate intervention regarding the reports coming out of western Jamaica about children being seriously injured travelling to and from school on bike taxis.

The physical damage being experienced by schoolchildren has become so commonplace that the principal of Little London High School in Sav-la-Mar has banned his students from riding bike taxis to and from the town square to the school. To its credit, the school has introduced a shuttle bus system to fill the gap, with reported success.

The question we wish to ask is: Are bike taxis the new mode of public transportation for children? If the answer is no, which is what we expect, we are then asking: How exactly does the Government intend to address this growing hazard to children?

Hear the Children’s Cry is seeking answers to the following additional questions:

■ Who and what are the ages of those bike taxi riders transporting children?

■ Are the bike taxis registered and licensed?

■ Do those bike taxi riders undergo road tests?

■ Are the bike taxis fit for road use, especially given the hazardous road conditions? ■ What about safety equipment, for example, helmets, and why are the helmet laws not being enforced?

SCHOOL BUS SYSTEM

Of course, underpinning this issue is the need for a safe, reliable, and affordable national school bus system, for which Hear the Children’s Cry has been seeking governmental action for a very long period of time. Our children must be able to travel to and from school safely, something we consider a fundamental right.

At the very least, we are asking you to consider an initiative in which certain certified, licensed route taxis would be designated as vehicles ‘fit to carry children’ and clearly marked accordingly so children can easily see and identify which these vehicles are. Those drivers with good safety records should be recognised and rewarded through some type of incentive programme.

Hear the Children’s Cry stands ready to support this or any other solution your Government sees fit to implement so as to make our streets safe for the youngest members of our society.

We look forward to hearing from you.