By Russell Hunter

APIA, Samoa (Samoa Observer,July 27, 2009) - As the road switch D-Day approaches, spare a thought for the bus companies.

They have six weeks to comply with the law that obliges them to close the passenger entrances on the right side of their buses and open another entrance on the left behind where the driver sits.

However, they can’t do this before September 7 without endangering their passengers and probably breaching the law.

For if they switch the entrances now, travelers will have to queue and board their buses from the "wrong" side. The danger to life and limb is obvious.

And that’s not all the buses and their passengers will have to worry about.

At an estimated cost of WST1,500 [US$579] per bus to switch entrances, the operators face significant costs in complying with the law post-September 7.

Remember, on September 6 boarding passengers from the left side of the bus will be illegal or at least extremely dangerous while 24 hours later it will be compulsory.

The bus owners are expected to complete this transformation of their fleets overnight.

Factor in the court challenge to the road switch and it’s not so hard to see why the bus owners are hesitant to start spending scarce cash on a project that conceivably may never happen or at least face significant delay.

Regardless of where one might stand in the ongoing debate – or more accurately dispute -over the road switch, the fact is that governments tend to get their way whether it’s here in Samoa or anywhere else in the world.

This is not to anticipate the outcome of the court action, it is simply to point out that governments have the means to make and amend laws. They are rarely hesitant to make use of such means.

Meanwhile the bus companies in particular face something of a dilemma as outlined above: to switch or not to switch the passenger entrances to their vehicles.

Let’s bear in mind that buses are an essential service.

We need them to go to work, to school, to play and simply to visit friends and relatives. To be without them even for a short while is unthinkable, leading as it would to chaos.

The Government has taken notice of this by offering a public holiday around the switch date – giving people, including the bus owners, the time to make their adjustments. Just how long it might take to complete these is not yet known but it seems reasonable to assume that bus company employees will be busy people over that public holiday.

Meanwhile, the practice area for driving on the left at Faleata has become little more than a shortcut for the golfers and other sports groups. And that’s unfortunate.

It’s been more than 40 years since Sweden and Iceland switched the sides of the road they drove in. Nobody else has attempted it since. And in each case, it should be said, the switch was relatively smooth and well prepared logistically and educationally.Are we really that well prepared? I’d suggest we’ll find out in six weeks time.

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