Route 3 maxi drivers to ban schoolchildren for a day

In solidarity with Varindra Singh, a route-three maxi taxi driver beaten by a group of schoolchildren on Monday, his fellow drivers on that route will spend a day of "rest and reflection," during which they will not transport schoolchildren.

Vickash Kissoondath, president of that route's association, announced this on Friday at a press conference in Port of Spain held by the Concerned Parents Movement.

Singh tried to protect one of his passengers from a group of children, using a spanner to scare them off. But instead, the students ganged up, beating him up as well as a student named Rasheed Lal.

Singh suffered a broken nose and damaged jaw, among other injuries, and doctors have told him not to drive for six months.

The attackers were students from the Carapichaima East and West secondary schools.

Kissoondath said drivers on that route have been "avoiding the students on a daily basis" since the incident.

"At least 85 per cent (of the drivers) are willing to attribute a day to not taking up any schoolchildren whatsoever."

This, he hopes, "will bring a greater understanding of how important the maxi taxi service is in Trinidad and Tobago."

He said the association is waiting to see what the Ministry of National Security does about the incident.