Land Transport Authority Chairman Inosi Kuridrani and the LTA board conducted a site visit in their Western branches and also met with with the Western bus operators to reiterate the stance of the LTA on road safety.
LTA says the meeting was also timely given the recent high number of bus incidents and accidents in the Western division.
During the meeting, Kuridrani reiterated the need to address some of the critical issues to avoid risking the lives of the general public, daily commuters and pedestrians.
Some of the issues raised by the Chair were the overloading of school and passenger buses, lack of supplementary buses to accommodate excess passengers, careless driving by bus drivers, driver failure to exercise the duty of care, defective buses and conducting safety pre-checks before a trip.
The LTA has also confirmed that the fleet audit spot checks that are currently being conducted by them will be based on the standards and compliance level of respective fleets and they require support from the bus operators to ensure that the fleet is available on the agreed times for this exercise.
They say these fleet audit checks will assist the bus operators to maintain their fleet condition up to par within the required standards by the LTA.
Kuridrani says keeping in touch with their key stakeholders allows them to have essential dialogue that provides them with valuable feedback and insight which assists them in their planning of upcoming developments so they can continue to grow and improve.
He adds the Authority and the bus operators will work together to implement safety measures for the general public, daily commuters and pedestrians.
