SXMElections.com

PHILIPSBURG--“To professionalize, promote and enhance public transportation equally for consumers and operators alike” is the goal of the Ministry of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication, Minister responsible Claret Connor told Parliament’s Permanent Committee for Transport on Thursday afternoon.

Conner was at Parliament House to talk with the committee about the state of the country’s transportation sector. Members of Parliament were particularly concerned about the moratorium on the issuance of bus and taxi licences. The meeting was a continuation of the one that started on March 10.

The ministry has developed “a comprehensive public transportation framework policy” to address necessary improvements in the sector. The improvements in some ways hinge on the recommendations of the integrity report, compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers, about government operations.

The ministry has drafted legislation to address mandatory training of drivers, standards for vehicle licensing and for help and assistant drivers. The draft legislation is expected to be tabled in Parliament by mid-2016.

The draft was vetted by the Legal Affairs Department and will be submitted to the Council of Ministers for approval in the near future. Following its approval, the draft will make the required vetting rounds before it is deemed ready for Parliament.

The draft ordinance will be the basis for additional expansion in a national decree or ministerial decree and will focus on certification, inspections, safety and standards.

Also on the ministry’s agenda is the implementation of a transportation workgroup.

At present, the country’s transport system for the public is regulated by the National Ordinance on Public Transportation (A.B. 1969 no. 7; with seven amendments made over the years) and the Island Decree of August 24, 1970, which has not been amended since 1986.

Amendments to the Island Decree specifically dealt with the membership of the Transportation Committee. It limited committee membership to two years, mandated that vacant seats must be filled within 30 days, and outlined that a person filling a seat vacated before the full two-year term, is bound by the remaining time of the predecessor.

Members, who have served the two-year term on the committee, cannot be re-appointed within 2 years after retirement, according to the Island Decree.

However, there is no transportation committee in place to advise the minister on the issuance of licences.

Other amendments prior to 1986, were the introduction of the term “irregular transportation with number plate G” and the term “small buses,” the timeframe for the committee and the minister to act on a request; medical requirement and the maximum age of 65 were removed.