A half-day workshop on Preventive measures to ensure security in buses at the initiative of the ERS Transport Squad (Police du Transport) was held yesterday at the National Transport Corporation (NTC), La Tour Koenig Regional Office.
Speaking at the workshop, ASP Jean Claude Ramsay, Head of the ERS Transport Squad, urged public transport employees to be more vigilant. He added that the society is undergoing a change and that bus crews should adapt to these new situations. People with different characters and having diverse behaviours travel by public transport daily. You should learn how to prevent incidents in public buses. He, however, warned bus crews not to take the law into their hands, and try to act on behalf of the Police or any other authority.
Mr. Ramsay also announced that the ERS Transport Squad will soon start a sensitisation campaign targeting students. He explained that it has been reported that bus crews usually have a tough time with some students.
With regard to dark spots where assaults against bus crews are more likely to occur, ASP Ramsay announced that his Squad along with other Units within the ERS will be more present so as to ensure the security of bus crews. After a brief presentation of the ERS Transport Squad, ASP Ramsay said that although the Squad has only eight police officers, it has so far been very much active.
On the other hand, Inspector Poorecelan of the ERS insisted that the main objective of the ERS Transport Squad is to curb down assaults against bus crews and ensure their security and that of passengers. He added that Road Traffic (Conduct of Passengers) Regulations 1967 are very clear regarding the behavior of passengers in public buses. Any passenger who contravenes these regulations commits an offence and could be liable to a fine, if convicted, he explained. Furthermore, he urged bus crews to share information with the Police so as to better deal with the problem of assault.
For his part, Mr. Pradeep Panday, NTC Traffic Manager, explained that the workshop aims to facilitate an exchange of information and ideas between the ERS Transport Squad and bus crews. He added that the management of the NTC is very much concerned about cases of assault against its employees. Ten employees of the NTC have been victims of assaults since the beginning of this year.
Source: Government of Mauritius