Temporary bus stop causing chaos – AOPT

The temporary bus stop placed at the old Fairchild Street market, setup to be used after 7 p.m. by public service vehicles (PSV) for loading of passengers, is not working as intended, according to one representative body.

This morning the Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT), Roy Raphael, said that he is concerned that their members are still being reported for loading passengers at the bus stop, which is designed to ease persons from having to walk all the way to the Constitution River Terminal when it’s dark.

He told Barbados TODAY that the Ministry of Transport and Works, in an attempt to make things easier for the travelLing public, forgot to make temporary route changes to allow PSV’s to legally access the stop.

“What has happened is that they have placed the temporary bus stop there but they have not changed the route for the PSVs to go to it. So, we have a situation where the police officers are reporting the drivers for being off route because their PSV permit says that they must turn on the Constitution River Terminal,” explained Raphael.

“There either needs to be some communication or the PSVs would need to be issued a temporary change of route, so that they are in compliance with the law,” he added.

In addition to drivers and conductors being reported, the AOPT head painted a picture of chaotic scenes at night, as taxi operators are illegally parking at the stop, hoping to attract prospective passengers coming out of the supermarket.

“We are now having taxi drivers operating in the area and too many ZR drivers are using that bus stop. Now that bus stop is very close to the turn point of the Transport Board buses leaving the Fairchild Street terminal. The situation is just chaotic, and something has to be done urgently to bring order back to this situation,” Raphael lamented.

The AOPT spokesman noted that while the effort by the ministry to make things easier for commuters and operators is appreciated, he believes that his organisation should have been consulted on the best place to put the temporary bus stop.

“Only last week a group of us went up there to see what is happening. We welcome the bus stop as a temporary measure, but we believe that the Ministry of Transport and Works should have first consulted with the association to determine where is the best point to put it. We would have told them that the best place to put it was across by Probyn Street, which would have accommodated more PSVs and it would not be in the way of the Transport Board buses trying to turn into the terminal,” he contended.
colvillemounsey@barbadostoday.bb