Operators angry over five-minute rule

Just over a year after being officially opened, the newly designed Constitution River Terminal (CRT) has been described as inadequate.

The criticism has come from public relations officer of the Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT) Mark Haynes who has said the terminal simply cannot accommodate the large numbers of public service vehicles (PSVs) which utilize it daily.

His comments have come following a decision by management at the Transport Authority to implement a system at the terminal that allows PSV operators only five minutes to load their vehicles.

The move today frustrated operators at the terminal who told Barbados TODAY they would be unable to make money if the new system remained in place.

The terminal was officially opened on May 15, 2018, by the then Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Government.

However, Haynes said the terminal was “inadequate from inception”.

He said with just ten loading bays servicing 30 routes, space was a serious concern. This, he said, was the reason behind the Transport Authority’s decision to place a time limit on how long a PSV could stay in the bay.

Haynes called on Government to find the necessary funds to extend the facility.

“The CRT has to be reconfigured in terms of size to accommodate the number of vehicles which use that terminal,” he contended.

“It is hoped that going forward the Government would try to allocate funding to extend the size of the terminal, in which case it would allow more vehicles to move much more quickly.”

Haynes lamented the fact that persons from the sector had not been consulted when the CRT was being designed.

However, he said following a meeting with the authority’s chairman Ian Estwick this evening, a decision had been made to have discussions on the new initiative.

Haynes said Estwick was of the view that the move was “not set in stone”, and he was open to alternative suggestions.

The AOPT official said the terminal had brought about a change in culture of PSV operators since opening.

“Since the introduction of the CRT it really brought order to the sector in terms of persons coming together and coming and queuing and it brought out good behaviour in PSV workers, but the issue itself is that the building is inadequate in size,” Haynes said.

During an earlier visit to the terminal, Barbados TODAY was met by a large group of disgruntled PSV operators.

One driver who asked not to be identified complained that with road tax varying between $3000 to $7000 and insurance as high as $25 000, it was unreasonable to expect PSV operators to leave the terminal with two or three passengers.

Richard Lavine, a driver for the past 20 years, was adversely affected by the new time limit.

He plys the Horse Hill, St Joseph, route and was forced to leave the terminal with just three passengers after spending five minutes in the bay.

“What money will I make for myself and the owner this way?” he asked as he was escorted to his vehicle by a police officer.

“I will have to put them out and return to the back of the line and see if I can get a bigger load.”

Efforts to contact Estwick for comment proved unsuccessful up to press time. randybennett@barbadostoday.bb