The Tribune

TO anyone who has made use of public transport in The Bahamas, it will come as little surprise that there are irregularities in the sector.

The latest area under the microscope is the use of self-drive licence plates – sometimes, it would seem, not for the purpose they are intended.

Road Traffic Controller Bradley Sands says that many are being used in competition with the taxi business.

He’s right – to find that out, you just need to keep a watch on our streets. Especially at night. Members of The Tribune staff have reported vehicles slowing down while passing to shout out “Need a taxi?”. The licence plate often doesn’t match up to the service being offered.

The suggested solution seems to be to have different coloured licence plates – we’re not convinced that tourists in particular will note the difference between licence plate colours any more than they note the difference between the SD and TN already in use, but it is a step to be welcomed. Back it up with some more enforcement, though, and ensure that licences are rescinded for inappropriate use, and we might be getting somewhere.

The taxi side could also use tighter regulation too, of course. Of particular note would be the lack of proper meter usage – regular taxi users report it’s a rarity for a driver to use the meter to charge a passenger. Instead, the passenger is often just told a fee at the end of the journey – sometimes inflated more than it should be.

And while we’re at it, let’s clamp down to make sure that the people using the licences are the ones who are supposed to – not someone else who then leases them out and skims the profit by being the middle man.

These are little steps – but they all add up to a better regulated sector. And given that people are putting their lives in their drivers’ hands, every extra bit of reassurance is welcome.

A well-deserved honour

We would echo the applause for Cynthia “Mother” Pratt wholeheartedly.

She was awarded the 2019 Nelson Mandela Humanitarian Lifetime Achievement Award yesterday, along with a New Pan-African ovement certificate.

While many a public figure has moved away from their roots as their career has grown, Mother Pratt has stayed right where she grew up – in the heart of the inner city.

Others may retreat behind high gates or to luxury surroundings, but not Mother Pratt. She has stayed where her heart belongs, even as she rose to become national security minister, deputy prime minister – even acting prime minister. All from being the girl with bare feet whose family struggled with poverty and the challenges of that inner city.

She is an example to others indeed – and her honour is so very richly deserved.