Personnel of The Gambia Police Force, (GPF) yesterday, impounded over 350 vehicles, private as well as commercial, for failing to pay their vehicle licence and road tax for the year 2009, the Daily Observer can reveal.

As required by the laws of the land, under the Motor Traffic Act, vehicle owners are required to renew their vehicle licence at the end of every year, as well as pay their road tax, which is due for renewal by December 31st, every year.

Speaking to the Daily Observer, yesterday, ASP Sulayman Secka, public relations officer of GPF, said the police mounted check points in a number of areas to track down drivers who failed to abide by the regulation. He vowed that the exercise will continue until when every vehicle owner obtains their document, as required by the law.

The police spokesperson also spoke at length on the issue of vehicle number plates and seat belts. He disclosed that the police have printed over one thousand number plates, available at Kairaba, Banjul and Basse police stations. But he expressed frustration at the fact that some drivers still refuse to secure number plates for their vehicles.

The Daily Observer visited Denton Bridge, Kairaba, Bundung, Kotu and Serrekunda police stations, where a large number of impounded vehicles were seen.

The move by the police, on the other hand, left hundreds of commuters stranded, especially at major garages such as West Field, Banjul, Serrekunda, and  Brikama.

As a result of this seemingly uncompromising stance of the police, a number of taxi drivers who failed to comply with the rules prefer not to ply these main highways, apparently in avoidance of the law enforces.

It is against this backdrop that the Daily Observer also visited some of the busiest taxi turning points. At the Cooperative, a popular waiting point for commuters heading for the major towns of Banjul, Bakau and Brikama, hundreds of frustrated commuters were found, desperately struggling for the barely available vehicles to reach their destinations. Many people expressed shock about what one person described as an" undesirable situation".

Alieu Jarju, a commuter travelling to Brikama, expressed frustration over the situation, revealing that he had been standing at that point for about 30 minutes, and that he was only able to hold sight of only two taxis that were Brikama bound.

What is even more expensive about the whole scarcity, according to him, is the fact that he had lost an important transaction that was supposed to be accomplished within a specific period earlier. Jarju expressed disappointment with taxi drivers for failure to meet the rules and regulations governing their trade. He went on to appeal to them to comply with these rules in a bid to ease the work of the police.

Modou Camara said he had spent about one and half hour in Brikama, struggling to board a taxi to report to work. At one point, he said, he found himself struggling among a crowd of over 100 people, only to board a single taxi. What is even more painful, he pointed out, is the fact that the few taxi drivers plying these highways are taking advantage of the situation, bluffing off waiting passengers.

Reiterating the same sentiment, Kadijattou Susso, who was travelling to Tallinding, described the situation as unfortunate, thus calling on drivers to pay the particulars of their vehicles to avoid subjecting the general public in this kind of situation.

Another commuter, Bintou Susso of Tallinding, said she had gone to collect her children from school when, on return, they were faced with this unbearable situation, forcing them to walk all the way to West Field. However, she expressed shock about "misbehaviour" of taxi drivers who, she said, are clearly taking advantage of the situation by indulging these kind of attitude.

Wandifa Sanneh, a student of the University of The Gambia, said he walked from the junction at Jimpex in Kanifing, to the junction at Cooperative with the hope of boarding a taxi. He was however disappointed by the fact that the situation at that site was even worse.
At the time of interview, Wandifa had been waiting for more than one hour, struggling to reach home from school. He also urged drivers to comply with the authorities "for the common good."

However, yesterday's scarcity of commercial vehicles did not spare even students. At Cooperative junction, a group of students who were desperately struggling to board vehicles to their schools in the Western Region expressed concern about the unfortunate development, reiterating that it greatly hindered their studies.

Several other commuters who spoke to the Daily Observer expressed similar sentiments. While applauding the police for doing "what is right," they appealed to drivers for compliance, as a way of avoiding recurrence of this kind of situation.