With a government so intent on liberalising any possible sector to create more competition for the benefit of the consumer, one wonders why it took so long for a decision to be taken with regard to the hearses market.

Now that the decision has been taken, the Federation of Public Transport last Friday ordered industrial action, which will start today. All the sectors forming the public transport system will not be functioning for an undetermined period, the federation said. The announcement pushed the government into calling off a meeting that was scheduled for Wednesday, and adding that it will not go back on its decision.

The swords have been drawn.

It is said that the government takes the most controversial decisions at the start of a term in office, and this one – although technically speaking only affects 11 licensees – was bound to create some ripples, as in fact it did.

What the federation – and all its members – are fearing is that this could be the start of a wider, comprehensive reform in the public transport sector. The federation is seeing this as being the first step towards the liberalisation of the other parts of the system – minivans, buses and taxis – and is trying to stop the floodgates from opening.

The hearses market has been dominated by 11 licence holders for decades. In its press statement announcing the liberalisation of the market, the ministry said that in 1959 there were 11 owners of horse-drawn carriages that were used to carry coffins. These same owners were given licences to start using cars in 1970. Although in 1984 the police had recommended to the government that there was a need for 10 more licences, the government had decided to leave the status quo. Another request was made in 1997 but no changes were made. It was only in 2006 that the Fair Trading Tribunal ordered the Public Transport Authority to issue two more licences after a complaint had been filed.

All throughout this time, although regulations lay down a fixed price for the use of such services – a price that has not changed since 1983 – all of the licence holders charge higher prices, according to the ministry. It added that in a liberalised economy, the government aims to keep prices low by opening up the market to competition and control cartels.

It is with this in mind that the Cabinet chose to liberalise the sector, and the ministry announced a list of criteria that need to be followed, such as that second-hand hearses cannot be imported and that

hearses have to be replaced after 20 years. Fixed prices will also be removed. It has done so in the spirit of a policy that the Nationalist government has been following for the last 20 years – that the principle of liberalisation is the rule and that control is an exception.

The liberalisation of other sectors in the past have led to a stronger economy and at the same time offered consumers a choice. Experience has shown that consumers suffer the most in cases where there are monopolies.

In calling for strike action, the federation is making an attempt to protect its interests and those of its members. But it has jumped the gun. First of all, why call a strike when a meeting with the government was already on schedule to discuss public transport? If anything, the federation should have waited till the meeting was held and then, if it still felt the need, take action.

Secondly, the federation is missing a very important point – that public opinion is very much against the public transport service providers. The ministry spelled it out exactly when it said that public transport does not satisfy the people’s expectations. If the public transport system was efficient and reliable as much as it should be, there would be more people using it and fewer cars on the road.