Recent reports regarding school bus services on the island are no doubt cause for concern. After all, public sector accountant SOAB found in 2007 that Government had overpaid for this service by a total
NAf. 1 million from 2003 to 2006 and that billing fraud also had been committed for maybe an even higher amount. On top of that, the total cost increased from NAf. 3.6 million in 2002 to more than NAf. 5.4 million in 2015.
It was stated that one operator with three buses earned NAf. 288,700 last year or NAf. 20,971 on a monthly basis, while another with a six-vehicle fleet made NAf. 312,045 annually or NAf. 28,386 per month. This is indeed more than Cabinet Ministers or Members of Parliament take home.
However, one has to be careful not to jump to conclusions and avoid comparing apples with oranges. If these examples involve multiple vehicles, it stands to reason that the monetary figures mentioned also include salaries of the number of drivers needed to operate them.
Moreover, many might not realise that road tax and licence plate fees for buses are far from cheap, while a comprehensive insurance policy obviously is required to cover all occupants. Also, maintenance and parts for these vehicles tend to be relatively expensive, with just one of the usually eight big tires alone said to cost several hundred US dollars.
The intention here is not to deny there have been and may still be transgressions and irregularities within the sector, but rather to put things in their proper perspective. Better supervision and regulation are clearly needed especially in light of the alleged fake- or double-invoicing, hence the decision to assign the buses G-plates so they fall under the Public Transportation Ordinance and control of related inspectors.
The Ministries in charge of Education and of Transport also have come together in a committee to work on a single joint policy instead of two separate ones. Proper consultations on the result with the field will then follow, which had not always been the case up to now.
Most people actually would prefer not to see a single party win any possible bidding process in the future and put all the current 36 independent operators and their 66 school buses out of business, but on the other hand accountability remains a must. That is in the best interest of everyone, particularly the taxpayer.
