More trouble in transportation industry
There is never a dull moment and there is more trouble brewing in the bus transportation industry and this time the opening salvo is coming from none other than National Transport Limited. Last Thursday the company sent a letter to the Transport Board objecting to two of its members by citing a conflict of interest with the bus company. According to the letter, the current make up of the board can be detrimental to the interest of National Transport. C.E.O. David Novelo explains.
David Novelo, C.E.O., National Transport
“Recently we have been hearing from the Department of Transport that they are planning to zone the different routes and therefore what we have written to them through our lawyers is that the company has an objection with these two individuals. First of all, Mr. John Flowers was part of the management of the receivership and we are engaged in a lawsuit with the receiver at this moment, so therefore he cannot be objective and Mr. Leo Batty who we have bought out had signed he would not engage, join, manage, participate in any of the bus industry, so by him accepting to sit on the board as a bus provider, he has breeched that contract and therefore now is liable for a lawsuit. Legally, a board is supposed to be fair or at least show proof of being fair and you have to realise that when a board of this convenes and you have people knowledgeable in the industry and you have someone like Mr. Leo Batty primarily himself, who knows which are the lucrative runs and which runs are not lucrative, sitting there and deciding which hours they will give, that handicaps any bus operator with whom they have a beef and there is another important scenario that no consultation has been done in the bussing industry, none whatsoever. Let us look comprehensively at the industry, let us regulate the industry and we are saying let now be, that fair play be practice to every single bus operator. Let us say that if you can implement the law, let it go across the board but at the end of the day, it is important that it is all geared towards the consumer, it’s all geared to the people that rides the bus, that they get a service second to none.”
Kendra Griffith
“You’ve sent a letter, what is your next step?”
David Novelo
“We have sent a letter that indicates that as long as these two individuals are there we will challenge every decision. That means that upon them awarding any runs, we will take our legal recourse.”
National Transport has since produced an ad that is airing on the local media which makes its case to the public and is challenging consumers to make their feelings known to the Transport Board. Novelo says his company has every intention of settling its D.F.C. debt and is therefore asking government to audit the company and the receivership.
