In a desperate bid to regulate passenger van operations, the state last year launched a series of measures to make them safer. The goal of getting this extremely popular service in order as part of the regime's "return happiness to the people" policy was laudable. But the implementation, using a centralised, top-down bureaucratic style, has been riddled with errors. Some measures have simply missed the point.
The ultimate goal is to gradually phase out passenger vans, a type of vehicle that has proved unsafe and been involved in a series of crashes with heavy casualties over the past years. The authorities want the vans to be replaced with microbuses though most crashes have been caused by human error with drivers violating traffic laws. A batch of microbuses, with assistance in the form of soft loans to van operators, hit the roads late last year.
Apart from safety issues, passenger vans have been blamed for city traffic problems. This is because of several departure and arrival points mostly downtown that make them a convenient choice for passengers. Some points are located near commercial complexes and indeed this does worsen traffic congestion.
