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But despite the many criticisms of the Transport system, Minister of Transport Edmund Castro took time out of his busy schedule to pay Noble a visit at the hospital today. While there, he gave the media an interview.

Hon. Edmund Castro - Minister of State/Transport
"It is so unfortunate. We have been trying to re-engineer the entire bus transportation and transport system in the country. We, for over the past 3 months, have actively played an advertisement over the radio asking for the bus owners and operators to obey the law."

Fortunato Noble - Father of Martin
"Thank goodness, there is no permanent - well so far, CT Scans have indicated that his brain is not swelling or bleeding. So, we must thank God for that. I also must be grateful that the person who traveling behind that bus was alert. And, I have to publicly give him thanks for being an alert and conscientious driver. He could have killed my son, and I would not have been in a position to blame him. I have to blame, however, the bus owners, bus operators, driver and even the conductors, who carry passengers who are standing and are not properly seated in a bus. The regulation clearly states that no bus operator must carry standees. They carry passengers more than the seating capacity, and they are doing this. It pains me."

Hon. Edmund Castro
"From our angle - from the Ministry of Transport - we put the policies in place, but we can't be there to police every bus that moves. We have hundreds of buses commuting our highways at any given time. What we are trying to do is to enhance our enforcement ability. But, like the police how the police - for example - cannot be everywhere to prevent a gunshot or to prevent someone from getting hurt throughout the length and breadth of this country, nevertheless, we are working to see how we can improve the enforcement aspect, and restructure the transport system so that we can be more visible out there, to try to work the situation and try to avoid such things like this."

Patrick Jones - Love News
"Minister, that sounds like a weak response, if I may say that. There is a child upstairs, fighting for his life; he could have been dead. And the Ministry of Transport is saying that you can't police it. Does this man still have a license to be running a bus on our highways?"

Hon. Edmund Castro
"Well, I haven't met with the Transport Board, or the Transport Authority as yet. Today, we will be in session, and they will take the necessary steps, and I know that the police will get involved. This will go to the full extent of the law. We're not backing down; we are not protecting anybody who breaks the law because they know that it's against the law to be doing what they were doing. This one got caught."

Fortunato Noble
"There's been an advertisement running for about 3 months, and I was the person who assisted the Ministry of Transport, coming up with that ad, and voicing it. It pains me now that it came so close to home. I am just calling on them to please, don't carry standees. If there are children on the bus, they aren't your children, but when they are in your bus, they are your responsibility. Please take care of them; put them to sit down. You cannot just turn a blind eye. If the bus door opens, you travel half a mile before you realize that the bus door is open, that's ridiculous. And like I said before, I am pursuing this to the full extent. I will seek all my alternatives. I am upset; my son could have died, and that's what really - I don't have words to express. I am pursuing this to the full extent of the law, and they have to pay. This should give the other operators notice that terrible things can happen when you don't do the correct things."

Monica Bodden
"Mr. Noble, have you had a chance to speak with the bus driver, or a representative from the bus company?"

Fortunato Noble
"The bus driver came last night. I was in no condition to speak them. He came, and he tried to justify what he was doing. When I saw pictures of the lock that was holding the door shot. It's a deadbolt lock that you use on a window of a house. If you shake that too much, your window opens. You put that on a bus; the bus is moving, and it vibrates. There is a possibility - there is a possibility that the kid might have opened the door; I don't know. But, that should not happen, and even the child was there, someone should be supervising this child. He should not have been standing up in the first place. It is unlawful for a person to be standing when a bus is moving. So, that was what was holding the door, and I told him, 'This is ridiculous what you are doing.' He tried to explain to me that he can't be attentive to all the kids. So, don't put them on the bus."

Hon. Edmund Castro
"Yes, there were standees, from all indications from people on the site. The bus was so packed that the number of standees in there caused the door to pop open. More youngers and other people could have fallen out of that bus, not only a child, an elderly person as well. So, this one will have to go to the fullest extent of the law. The police will get involved and deal with have to do to press charges."

Monica Bodden
"But don't you think that there should be stricter penalties implemented for these operators carrying standees? I also understand that even though they cannot leave the terminal with standees, the exit the gate and pick up everyone outside."

Hon. Edmund Castro
"Yes, it's been going on for a while now; it's not a problem which just started since I took over the Ministry of Transport. It's an ongoing problem, and we're trying to rectify it. We're trying to manage the Transport system. So, I think that there is no excuse for this operator, and I think that the rest of the operators doing foolishness like this, breaking the law and carrying standees, should take a hint from this because, as I have spoken to one of the parents of the child, he will do whatever it takes to make sure that he gets justice for his child. And I think that we from the Ministry of Transport will do - and hopefully, the police will also do their part - what needs to be done to deal with this situation. It's a criminal matter."

Patrick Jones - Love News
"What about the road-worthiness of that vehicle? If that door was open, shouldn't a buzzer or something have indicated to the driver that it was opened?"

Hon. Edmund Castro
"I think that what we are doing is that we are trying to develop the standard for all buses, from fire extinguishers, to jacks - we are going through an entire - and remember, over 3 months ago, we put out some 37 regulations which they need to abide by. Obviously, some of the bus operators still want to operate loosely and negligently. But those 37 should have ensured that all these things were put in place for it to be on the road."

Duane Moody - Channel 5 News
"Sir, we got a clear shot showing that no lock was actually on this door. It was actually a padlock which was holding this door together. What kind of thing is that? People, over-crowded buses and an improper lock system, it's a cause for things like this to happen."

Monica Bodden
"And aren't there inspections being done?"

Hon. Edmund Castro
"Each bus should go through the terminal. Again, we have situations where some of the buses are not entering the terminal for inspections. So, I don't know if this had gone to the terminal. I would have to - the investigation will prove whether it did or not. Each bus should go to the terminal, but we have some of these buses that are not going into the terminal for these daily inspections."

Patrick Jones - Love News
"Now, you said that the Transport Board will meet and come up with something. What is likely to be penalty imposed on this operator?"

Hon. Edmund Castro
"Well, we have not restructured or completed the SI to increase the penalty for standees. The last SI stipulated that the penalty for standees is $100. But, I think that the Board will meet and decide where we should go with a situation like this. This is not a decision that I will just make by myself."

Patrick Jones - Love News
"Fortunato, I understand that your other son who was on the same bus had a difficult time sleeping last night."

Fortunato Noble
"He was. He was terribly shaken. Up to this point, he - I guess - is blaming himself. He is a little older; they always travel together. He was seated. I guess that he is blaming himself think that he should have had his kid brother sitting and he standing. I guess that had he fallen, it might have been worse because he is a little heavier and bigger. But, yes, he is blaming himself, and he is very shaken. They are very close, so, he is having a hard time dealing with this."

Monica Bodden
"Do you consider yourself lucky to be alive today?"

Fortunato Noble
"Of course, I consider myself lucky to have my child with me, Thank God."

Minister Castro also mentioned in his interview with the media that the Board of Transport will make a decision on whether or not Haylock's bus line will continue to operate. And for Martin's father, he has already commenced legal proceedings.