Cabinet has approved sweeping updates to Fiji’s Land Transport regulations, with two major measures aimed squarely at tightening control of public transport permits: the re-introduction of temporary permits and the removal of permit transfers through sale and purchase agreements.
The return of temporary permits is expected to ease service gaps while ensuring that operators meet compliance standards before securing long-term arrangements.
Equally significant is Cabinet’s decision to end the long-standing practice of transferring permits through private sale and purchase agreements.
The system has been widely criticised for fuelling a “black market” for PSV permits, allowing individuals to profit from trading them rather than using them to provide transport services. Removing these transfers is intended to restore fairness, transparency and proper regulatory control.
These two reforms form the centrepiece of a wider package of amendments to Public Service Vehicle regulations, fees and penalties, Traffic Infringement Notices, vehicle registration rules and driver licensing requirements.
The changes also include higher penalties for non-compliance, a new offence for failure to stop and weigh, and the introduction of a two-stage provisional licence system.
