Tour bus grounded for lack of air-conditioning
(CNS): A Public Transport Unit (PTU) inspector grounded a tour bus in George Town on Monday because there was no air-conditioning in the bus. Footage circulating on social media showed an angry driver confronting the PTU officer after the inspector had removed passengers from his bus. According to planning ministry officials, the main role of the PTU is to enforce the rules.
“While we understand the concerns raised by the tour operator, PTU’s primary responsibility is to uphold transport regulations that ensure passenger safety and operational compliance,” the officials stated in the release following the angry exchange yesterday in which the police were also involved.
“In this instance, the vehicle in question was found non-compliant due to a lack of air conditioning, a requirement outlined in the regulatory framework for public transport operators. The PTU enforces these standards to maintain the integrity of the public transport system and ensure that passengers — residents and visitors alike — receive safe and comfortable service.”
The ministry has not spelt out the exact nature of the sanctions imposed on the operator. However, in the video, the driver said the passengers had “been taken off the bus” even though they were happy to stay aboard. CNS asked the ministry directly about the consequences for the bus owner/operator who was taking visitors on a trip before they were asked to get off. Officials told us that the matter is still under review and they would share more information when it is available.
In the release about the incident, the ministry “acknowledged the frustration of the affected operator” but said that “all transport service providers should ensure that their vehicles meet the necessary compliance standards to avoid service disruptions”.
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There are many drivers in the industry that could tell you whats wrong with the industry but you don’t ask. We have hired lots of government workers but they have no power of enforcement. That driver had no A/C for over a year. We have drivers and people selling and stealing trips from a system started more than 40 years ago. We implemented public transport officers as a way to ticket these people, but there is no law so they can’t take away their license or their vehicle?
So you think public beach is bad? Watch from across the street how taxi/ bus drivers tout for customers outside the royal watler gate or on the North/ south terminal with signs and screaming to customers. That includes people not from Cayman selling stingray city. How have you never noticed the yelling and screaming.
Well thats going to get worse if we don’t build the port. Some of these people make USD$500-1000 per day.
Ah yes… “Build the port! That will solve everything.” Build the port and every problem you noted will get much worse. Seriously, where is the logic in some of these posts????? (I ask rhetorically as there is little logic).
School buses are also not equipped with air conditioning, why two standards? Is the comfort of kids not just as important?
Sure it is, but it all depends what has been agreed to in the contract. I am certain that the contract for the visiting guests would have specified that the coach would be air-conditioned. If the school bus contract also specified this, then it should be provided.
I think the lack of a/c on school buses is more to do with the rinky dink operators saving a chunk of change on fuel.
They can barely employ competent drivers in many cases, what makes you think they’re going to pay extra to have cool buses?
PTU is and has been a mess, for a long time!
And what about taxi drivers refusing to take registered service animals (dogs) in their taxis or charge an extra fee, that arrive at the airport with their handlers.
Find one that does. Not every taxi HAS to take animals in their vehicle.
Similarly, not every taxi HAS to accept every passenger. Some taxis have good standards that they want to maintain.
Ridiculous…We have chosen to adopt the standards of our neighbor to the SE and of course think and believe that this is the way things should be…Our forefathers in this business held high standards and returning visitors held them in high esteem.
We have not ‘Chosen’ those standards.
Those Standards have been Forced on us by politicians hungry for Jamaican votes.
Public beach is a cess pit of Jamaican behavior tolerated by MPs like Kenneth…
“Minister of tourism”..(!)..and Mac his mentor.
Want to get the Public beach back..? Get rid of those who gave it to dealers and Jamaican higglers.
Classless Cayman led by the classless clowns!
But respect for the inspector who stood his ground, did his duty, and was not intimidated by the angry law breaker.
Wish more of our public servants acted that way.
Should have been done before in correct location, how about a garage for inspection, duh, not when tourists on vacation are involved witnessing and enduring such crass behaviour! Shame on Cayman!
Shame on Cayman for allowing the destruction of Public Beach. Poor reviews growing online of our main attraction.
Many of these unfit vehicles and their disagreeable aggressive drivers should be off the roads permanently, and retired. We need to be performance auditing and investing properly in stay over and resident experience, not cruise. That’s where small efforts will pay returns.
The DOT needs to treat the Cayman Islands like their own homes: tidy it up, put away that pile of junk, loose and abandoned toys, weeds and dead plants, give it sweep and some paint, and prep it like we are expecting honored VIP guests for supper. Right after they call the dozen airline reps that service our jurisdiction, to teach them how to describe and pronounce our territory’s name, walk them through a typical arrival process, the immigration kiosks, and advise our prohibition lists on guns, ammo, drugs.
If Rosa can’t do this, she needs to be fired.
Perfect and so true! Maybe will apply for her job, could do it better without so called ‘Tourism’ qualifications, which obviously are useless in this Ministry, they don’t have a clue, just wishing wells!
Every single bus is a relict imported from a more civilized country which discarded it at the end of its useful life there. Once these vehicle reach the island they are then maintained to Jamaican standard and inspected to Caymanian DMV’s standard. The only saving grace is that, due to the lack of local attractions, they literally go nowhere and just fool tourists around the remains of SMB.
Watch recent YouTube videos from Cruise Ship travellers that went to Public Beach.
The once pristine and peaceful beach is overcrowded and deplorable vendors with shanty town vibes are plentiful.
An awful and embarrassing display for main attraction.
Public Beach is now a national embarrassment. Overcrowded with higglers and chancers. Can’t squeeze a Rizla paper between sun loungers. Plastic and other crap everywhere. The stink of weed. But hey, the wotes of these ‘businessmen’ is vital. Makes me puke.
Higglers and Jamaicans protected by Mac,Kenneth,Saunders and Seymour who want their votes.
Jamaicans continue the destruction of Cayman aided by politicians who care more for their fat salaries than the future of Cayman.
And involving tourists?? And they want to build a new dock? Even the poor, desperate refugee boats will avoid Cayman!
Inspect these vehucles once a month and ban them before they get on the road and full of tourists.
Disgusting! Cattle are treated with more respect in most countries!
Where are the RCIP and taxi inspectors? You could pay off the national debt by fining taxi drivers that turn right out of Public Beach in clear violation of the huge no right turn sign.
Why hasn’t the NRA installed the plastic bollards they love so much to keep traffic from turning back on to WB Road?
Too bad no one is controlling the Taxi’s and Buses. They drive like every fare is the last one to be had. Continually blocking traffic trying to convince people to get in.
That’s one of the gifts Cruise tourism brings us. Disruption to traffic and disruption brought by imported 3rd world drivers.
But hey, we gotta sell those T-shirts and made in China tat.
Go on line and see the comments tourists have about crime and overcrowding at cruise destinations with piers.
Domrep.Falmouth,Belize,Nassau,Haiti and Cozumelmel are now overcrowded crime ridden tourist hassle locations.
Cayman is still relatively safe, but keep cramming tourists into 30ft wide GT roads and destroy Cayman’s tourism image.
Pulling off and on the road without indicating, to drop off or to pick up a “fare”. Stopping in the middle of the road to talk with their “breddren” holding up traffic on both sides. Overtaking while loaded to the rafters and flying like a bat out of Hell.
While using their mobile phones!
You just described Jamaican takeover of Cayman.
Wait, these things are inspected by sentient beings?
So, why do I see various Toyota buses looking like they’ve done a ram raid on an LED and wheel spacer shop? Why do many of these buses look as though they are held together by decals, zip ties, and prayers?
We need proper buses, like a regular country, then people may want to actually use them, rather than just those who have no alternatives.
Import 3rd world standards and da wa ya get.
Bless
We don’t need new buses. We need a proper public transportation system — one that is comfortable, reliable and safe. Well, after that, if there is a perceived need of specific busses to address the soon-to-be waning cruise crowd, then have high standards for the vehicular conveyances.
the point being is that the current buses are not comfortable, reliable, or safe.
We need some 35+ seater vehicles, that don’t cram people in like sardines, low emission, that lower for wheelchair users, being driven by people in a flat rate with actual timetables. Since it’s 2025, GPS and wifi would be great, too. Get the NRA to create some bus lanes that are actually policed, and hey, you might get some traction!
Bus lanes? Good luck with that, they can’t even create cycle lanes or pavements!
Bus lanes? LOL Where you going to put them, the so called ‘cycle lanes’ are in the middle of the road and more dangerous than if they were not there!
You know that bus lanes can be just a bit of paint and signs that indicate when they’re in use, with cameras to enforce correct use.
If you had a bus lane from the EW arterial all the way to central GT, many people would take a decent bus.
First thing they need to do is take away inspection approval from anyone signing off on vehicles that are not road worthy.
Adding wheel spacers changes the geometry and axle loading and could well reduce the structural integrity of the undercarriage system. They should not pass inspection unless it is approved OEM option.
I think you would be surprised how bad these vehicles really are if you had someone competent inspect them.
You should check the school buses…
Inspection is first step I agree, but completely useless without Enforcement.