Madam Speaker, I am informed by the National Land Transport Authority that there is a regular bus service along Routes 10A, 137 and 99. Three routes, so I will go one by one for the sake of clarity. In fact, there are currently 21 buses of individual operators and two from the United Bus Service Ltd which operate along Route 10A (L’Escalier/Plein Bois to Curepipe) at intervals of 20 and 30 minutes during peak and off-peak hours, respectively. The first bus leaves La Sourdine at 5 o’clock in the morning and Curepipe at 6 o’clock in the morning, while the last trip from La Sourdine and Jan Palach is at 18:20 hrs and 19:00hrs, respectively. Furthermore, nine trips are performed both in the morning and afternoon in respect of school services. However, I am informed that this route has been subject to repeated complaints from commuters in relation to a shortage of buses during school times, coupled with some bus operators not adhering to the established timetable. However, as confirmed by the NLTA, with the integration of two temporary licences allocated to Lone Star Company Ltd and Muzput Company Ltd to operate along Route 10A since 21 February 2024 and 13 August 2024, respectively, the service has reasonably improved. So, this solution is supposed to be working seemingly according to the NLTA, unless you differ. As regards Route 137 (Carreau Accacia to Curepipe via Rose-Belle and Carreau Esnouf), nine buses, that is, three belonging to the NTC and six from individual operators, are licensed to operate thereat.

76 However, it is worth noting that four buses belonging to individual operators have ceased operations since October 2018, January 2023, November 2023, and January 2025, respectively, for various reasons, including the sale and non-replacement of the said buses. The three buses of the National Transport Company have been in operation along that route since May 2021. Moreover, arrangements are ongoing for an additional bus of the NTC to provide its service along the same route. As regards the bus which has been off the road since 2018, my ministry has requested the NLTA to consider the licence of the said bus as being lapsed and initiate prompt actions for the licensing of another bus accordingly. Additionally, the NLTA has been urged to convene the bus operators whose buses have been off the road since 2023 to press upon them for the replacement thereof. I believe this will provide relief given time, hopefully. Coming to Route 99 (Carreau Accacia to Mahebourg), Madam Speaker, I am informed that there are presently three buses of individual operators which are licensed to operate on the said route at intervals of 30 and 45 minutes during peak and off-peak times, respectively. These buses have to operate from 6 o’clock in the morning up to 6 o’clock in the evening. Given that there have been numerous complaints due to only two buses operating along this route, an additional licence has been granted to one operator on a temporary basis since January 2024 to improve service. I hope this is the case. Now, in view of the repeated complaints received on the poor level of public bus transport services along many routes, my ministry is working on several remedial actions which I had elaborated earlier on in my reply to PQ B/93 and at our Sitting of Tuesday 04 February 2025 in reply to PQ B/22. Thank you.

Thank you, hon. Minister. Yes!

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Comme vous le savez tous, le plus gros problème sur cette ligne, comme vous l’avez mentionné, c’est qu’il y a beaucoup de permis individuels. Mais malheureusement, ces propriétaires de bus, des fois, ils font exprès pour ne pas travailler parce qu’ils disent que ce n’est pas rentable. Est-ce que le ministre peut considérer de voir avec la National Transport Authority pour donner un bon service ou même mener une enquête pour savoir pourquoi les bus individuels refusent de travailler pour manque de revenus sur cette route-là ? Merci.

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The problems are multipronged, actually; I explained before. Firstly, not enough people are travelling by buses because now everyone has motorcycles and motorbikes. So, buses used to be powerpack full once upon a time. This is no longer the case, and this is a big challenge. Unfortunately, their timetable is not adjusted accordingly. So, we had to rework this. Then, the other challenge that is being faced by bus operators is the availability of competent drivers. So, these are the two issues we are facing islandwide, Madam Speaker.

Okay. Yes, hon. Second Member for Belle Rose and Quatre Bornes! MR K.R.'S. NOTARIAL OFFICE – SQUARE DEAL MULTI-PURPOSE COOPERATIVE SOCIETY LTD – EIA CERTIFICATE APPLICATION