By Martha Taumata Faavae
Overloading has become a nightmare for many of the bus drivers since the emergency lockdown limited the most number of passengers to only 20 people at any time.
Trying to keep the number of passengers within the limit and an extra watchful police have become the main headaches for the drivers.
Angry and threatening passengers left behind so as not to exceed the legal limit and overloading fines that starts with $200 for the first offence and more for repeats are the painful ones.
The nightmare is topped off with only a small fraction of earnings from what it was before all the troubles with the coronavirus pandemic led to the emergency lockdown.
Taofia Samuelu, runs the Evaeva Bus company service route from Apia to Tafitoala Safata on the south side of Upolu Island and he is coping as best as he can.
“My worst fear is overloading because I pay the $200 fine out of my own pocket not the company,” Samuelu moaned when asked by Newsline Samoa inside his bus at the Savalalo bus depot.
“Most of the time now when I have about 17 people in the bus it is time to move because there will obviously be people on the side of the road or at the Fugalei Market who’ll want to get in.”
Samuelu admits this is where most of his trouble starts like all other bus drivers. Passengers are interested only in getting into the bus and going home, nobody cares whether the limit is exceeded or not.
“Trying to get them out of the bus once they’re inside can be a risk to the personal safety of us drivers. “Imagine telling a mother with her three children they can’t go or some of her children will have to catch the next bus for the long trip.”
The Evaeva Company bus driver agonized not just at the threat from angry passengers but at being pulled over to the side of the road by the police and charged with overloading that translates into $200 coming out of his pocket.
Normal earnings for the bus route averages about $400 daily but it is reportedly down to about a quarter of the amount since public transport was allowed to return to service under the emergency lockdown.
Malavai Amosa drives for the Queen Poto Bus Company but his route is a shorter one from Apia to the TTM National Hospital at Moto’otua.
His worries are not about overloading but the drop in numbers of passengers by about half since he was allowed on the road with the easing of restrictions.
“The most for a trip is 10 people otherwise it trickles down to mostly around 4 because the TTM Hospital is being kept out of bound to the public unless allowed.”
Both bus drivers also noted many of their driving friends are staying away to wait out the end of the lockdown.
Some are unable to cope with overloading fines especially for the longer routes and the drop in daily earnings for the shorter runs.
“It’ll help with the overloading if we have the police come in and take a head count of the passengers before the bus leaves as they’re doing at the Mulifanua wharf for people going onto the boat.
“They can then help to remove the extra numbers that are overloading the bus.”
The drivers cannot wait for the end to the lockdown so life can start returning to normal again.