Transport board plans colours for PMVs

THE Morobe Land Transport Control Board will soon introduce different colour vehicle registration plates for public motor vehicles to distinguish those operating in the city from those in rural areas.
Board chairman Binny Hefua and traffic registry executive officer Joshua Mais said on Saturday too many PMV licence holders strayed from their designated route and often clashed with genuine route licence holders.
They said the board had decided to issue red registration plates for all Route One PMVs operating within the city boundary and suburbs including Malahang, University of Technology, West Taraka and Miles. 
The men said on Saturday in Situm, outside Lae, where they launched the Route Four PMV Association, one of the five PMV routes in the province, that many city operators abused their licence rights by “stealing” passengers from other routes.
The two men said the rural PMV would keep the blue registration plates.
Hefua said operators who were caught abusing their licence would have their vehicle numbers recorded and reported to the registry office.
The Nawaeb PMV Association was on June 24, 2008. The route covers the Labuta, Nabak and Ahi local level governments, in the Nawaeb district.  
Labuta covers an area from Lae to Bukauwa, Nabak covers Hobu, Gobadi, Nawaeb High School and Gobari while Ahi covers some parts of Ahi in Lae and the Bumayong area.
Association chairman Temas Nania said the association had about 30 operators who served up to 40,000 people, of which 20,000, 18,000 and 5,000 were from Nabak, Labuta and Ahi respectively.
Nania said the association members catered for about 40% of public and private sector employees who travelled to and from work in Lae daily, 10% of small to medium business entrepreneurs and 45% of subsistence farmers.
The other PMV routes are Route One Lae city and con-joining boundaries; Route Two – Bulolo-Wau and Menyamya; Route Three – Lae, Nadzab, Mutzing, Waterais and Ramu; Route  Five – Erap, Waing and Boana.