Pay PSVs, get out of bus business’, Atherley tells Government

Leader of the Opposition Bishop Joseph Atherley has called on Government to get out of the business of running public transport commercially and instead pay subsidies to public service vehicles.

He was speaking during the Public Transport (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill in the House of Assembly.

Atherley: “I want to make a call that I made before that the state withdraws itself from commercial aspects of public transport in Barbados. The state should facilitate private sector development in that area of economic activity and should confine itself but meaningfully so, and seriously so and obviously so to regulation not just to talk about it but to properly regulate the sector.

“I am suggesting very strongly that the state withdraws from providing public transport as a social good in the universal terms in which it seeks to do and incorporate the private interests in so doing in a context of strong and obvious regulation, not just stated or documented, regulation allowing for the savings in the cost associated with its involvement.”

The St Michael West MP said the private transit operators had made numerous calls over the years for help but these had gone unnoticed.

Atherley declared: “I believe that the state must commit to an element of subsidy. If the State withdraws I am sure that studies will show that monies will be saved. But even in withdrawing, if the state can commit to subsidising to some measure private operators to provide universal public transport service in Barbados I believe that savings will still be made. Absolutely necessary is the business of concessions.

“The sector has been asking for that, unheard, for years to reduce the cost of operations. There are some cost hardships associated with the PSVs and instead of the concessions, there was an increase with the imposition of the fuel tax.

“Rather than give an attentive ear to acceding the requests for such concessions, the State in the last couple years has imposed further financial burden on the sector.”

He said a firm arrangement which includes and empowers the PSVs would serve the country well, especially on distant routes.

He told the House: “[PSV operators] do not think that they can operate at certain hours on certain routes and going certain distant places in Barbados. If that is subsidised I believe the private interest would feel a motivation to go.

“If you don’t subsidise that then they will not go. If they don’t go then the Transport Board state entity has to provide the service which will be at a greater cost than if you offer a subsidy. The third pillar is that we need to give a bit more considered ear to the matter of concessions to reduce costs to operators in the private sector.”

The MP praised Government’s move to incorporate the PSVs into the wider transport system during this COVID-19 period since many have been displaced. But he asked that they look at a flat wage for PSV workers to lessen the “hassle” that is on the road.

“A Transport Board driver is paid a certain amount of money,” Atherley explained. “It should be considered that there is a flat fee that is regulated in terms of how they earn to take this hassle out of the situation. We can’t simply say two, three strikes you’re out we will be doing that repeatedly. What we will find is that we are recycling the same kind of behaviour over time.”