THE LEAD STORY in yesterday's STAR is a true reflection of the conditions commuters face on public transportation. And though it would be unfair to say incidents like these occur daily, they occur too often for comfort.
The story spoke of a 'Deadly bus ride' where gunmen and a licensed firearm holder traded bullets aboard a crowded bus. This is not the first story of its kind, as we have in the past, heard of stories where robbers have shot passengers. This, however, is different, in the sense that it was a downright gunbattle.
This is the reality that those who do not own cars must deal with. Some may say that we have made great strides in the transportation sector, and this may well be true, however, it makes no sense having new roads and buses, when the same set of criminals are terrorising decent travellers.
But what can we really do to stop this? Are we going to have security checkpoints at every bus stop? Or are we going to install metal detectors on our buses? Hardly think so. Though these ideas may sound promising, they probably will not ever come into being.
What is not a dream however, and is a very harsh reality, is the fact that practical solutions need to be put forward. While we may not be able to implement high- tech solutions, this is a problem that warrants some serious intervention.
We simply cannot condemn commuters to be victims of criminals.
Do
you have a problem? Is something bothering
you? Write to 
