Quarterly fleet spot checks for buses are being rolled out by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) for all bus fleets around the country.

This additional measure has been implemented by the LTA as it reviews and strengthens existing vehicle inspection processes for buses – in response to recent accidents involving school buses in Lautoka in the last month.

The quarterly fleet spot checks is expected to assist both the authority and bus operators to identity and rectify defects on buses, including checks on bus emissions.

LTA acting chief executive Irimaia Rokosawa said apart from the annual certificate of fitness for busees, they also conducted the quality assurance maintenance system checks for bus operators around Fiji.

To supplement those measures, additional actions would also include combined operations with the Fiji Police Force.

“This is ongoing and the respective branch managers are working closely with the divisional traffic officers to share resources and work together to address the current spike in fatality by targeting driver behaviour, road safety and illegal operations,” Mr Rokosawa said in a statement.

“LTA will continue on its school and community visitation conducted by the LTA Road Safety education and awareness team, branch managers with their team will be conducting school and community visitation at the district level working closely with their key stakeholders, including the community, police, divisional education officers, provincial administrators, advisory councilors and other key stakeholders.”

Mr Rokosawa said the authority was working actively with all key stakeholders to address any safety risks and maintain the highest standards of transportation safety.