Excursion buses to pursue lawsuit over PTSC fees
Senior Reporter
derek.achong@guardian.co.tt
The Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC) has agreed to waive the $15,000 licensing fee being imposed on private excursion buses while a lawsuit over it (the fee) is being determined.
Late last month, High Court Judge Frank Seepersad granted the Private Bus Owners/Operators Association and its president Nazim Mohammed leave to pursue a lawsuit over the legality of the fee against the corporation, the Transport Commissioner, and the Office of the Attorney General.
When the case and associated injunction application came up for hearing, yesterday morning, lawyers for the corporation and the Licensing Authority accepted Justice Seepersad’s suggestion to waive the fee pending the determination of the case.
Stating that there was evidence that the fee was not applied for almost two decades before being recently reinstated, Justice Seepersad recommended that the parties preserve the status quo while the case was receiving judicial attention.
Based on the undertaking, excursion bus owners will still be required to apply for a public service vehicle (PSV) licence but will not be required to pay the fee before being allowed to have their vehicles inspected.
In their court filings obtained by Guardian Media, the association’s lawyers led by Senior Counsel Anand Ramlogan claimed that from 1997 to 2004, his client’s members, who do charters and excursions using refurbished decommissioned PTSC buses, were required to pay the fee in order to conduct transactions with the Licensing Authority.
The fee for the PSV licence was initially set at $100 but was increased annually. It stood at $7,500 in 2004.
Their lawyers claimed that in 2004, Mohammed and his members were informed by officials of the authority that the PTSC did not have the power to impose such fees and the licence would no longer be required to conduct transactions.
Mohammed and his members followed the instruction and were permitted to conduct transfers and inspections of their omnibuses.
They attempted to have their buses inspected last year, they were told that they would be once again required to obtain a PSV licence from the PTSC before they could complete the process. They were also informed that without the PSV licence, they would only be able to have three passengers in the buses inclusive of the driver.
They alleged that the corporation’s officials initially claimed that the current fee for the licence was $11,000.
However, after their lawyers requested disclosure of information relating to the licensing scheme and associated fees, they were informed that the fee for buses with more than 26 seats, such as those operated by association’s members, was $15,000.
The corporation indicated that there were lower fees for buses with 15 seats or less and between 16 and 26 seats.
The association’s lawyers are claiming that the bus owners cannot afford the current fee.
They alleged that Mohammed, who owns two buses, only gets approximately one charter a month for which he makes $1,200 after fuel costs are deducted. They also contended that the fee was grossly disproportionate as they pointed out that the current fee charged to Route 2 (red band) maxi taxi operators to use the Priority Bus Route (PBR) is $2,400.
The association’s lawyers admitted that under the Public Transport Service Act, the corporation is permitted to issue licences to allow private individuals to operate public service vehicles.
However, they noted that such licences are granted where the private individuals seek to provide public transport services on routes not operated by the corporation and should not apply to them.
They also contended that only the Minister of Works and Transport had the power to prescribe the associated fee.
They also claimed that under the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Act, the authority did not have the power to require that their clients obtain licences from the PTSC.
They also questioned the reintroduction of the licensing requirement after an almost two-decade hiatus.
Through the lawsuit, Mohammed and the association are seeking a series of declarations against the corporation and authority. They are also seeking an order quashing the licensing requirement and associated fee.
The association is also represented by Jayanti Lutchmedial, Kent Samlal, Vishaal Siewsaran, Natasha Bisram, and Aasha Ramlal.
PTSC was represented by Bronock Reid. The Licensing Authority was represented by Ian Benjamin, SC.
The parties are expected to agree to a case management schedule before another hearing is set.
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