Issue not limited to one part of the country
WHILE the alleged bus crisis has forced the closure of three bus companies in the Western Division, firms in other divisions have also claimed they were in a precarious position.
Over the past few months, Dominion Transport Ltd and two others in the West have ceased operations.
Nadan’s Transport Ltd in Tavua has also made known the difficulties it was facing to remain open. However, the issue is not unique to companies in the West.
A major operator in the Central-Eastern Division claimed the issue was not limited to a particular part of the country.
“Bus operators across Fiji are feeling the pinch,” said a company director who spoke to this newspaper on the condition of anonymity.
“We have been asking for a fare increase for a long time.
“A report was done by the LTA in 2009 but after that it was swept under the carpet.
“For us in the Central-Eastern area, income may have gone down slightly — not as much as those in the Western Division — but our operating costs have almost tripled.
“We have cheques bouncing every week and are getting abused from our creditors because we simply cannot pay them on time.
“Most of us are paying $8000 or more a month in repayments for every new bus we have purchased and when you add fuel, wages, cost of replacement parts and maintenance costs — we are really struggling to keep ourselves afloat.”
The director said his company had been with his family for five generations.
“We are fighting hard to keep the business going because this is not an investment for us, it is our life.”
He said the company used to hire 100 staff but the number had reduced to 65 because of the financial crisis they were facing.
For us in the Central-Eastern area, income may have gone down slightly — not as much as those in the Western Division — but our operating costs have almost tripled – Bus company operator