PSVs want restriction on capacity lifted to allow them more passengers

Along with renewed calls for public service vehicles (PSVs) to be allowed to operate at full capacity, the Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT) is also suggesting there should be a full removal of all restrictions.

The call has come from its communications, information and marketing officer, Mark Haynes, who has suggested that it would be the best option with the busy Christmas season around the corner.

For the past six months PSVs have been limited to carrying 75 per cent of their maximum capacity as part of efforts to control the spread of COVID-19 on the island.

“We hope that with Government having decided to lift the curfew to midnight that we are able to capture some more commuters who may be on the road, some of whom may be doing their early Christmas shopping…

“As Christmas draws near people are going to be shopping and therefore more people will be out. The economy needs to be revitalized and people need to shop and businesses in town need to strive so we cannot continue for an incessant period with these lockdowns and these shutdowns,” Haynes told Barbados TODAY.

“I think that Government should remove the restrictions altogether, reinforce the question of the protocols and ensure that they are kept to the maximum…I do not think that it makes a lot of economic sense to have this curfew, even though we’ve been told it’s for four weeks. I hope that it is lifted altogether thus allowing people to shop and get ahead with their lives.

“COVID is not going anywhere in short order. We have to respond to the protocols and the protocols have to be kept because we do not know, given the variants out there, what else could come our way. This is not the time for us to let our guard down. This is a time to accelerate all of the protocols, especially the wearing of the masks.”

Haynes maintained that as a result of the restrictions on capacity, online school and a large number of persons working from home, PSVs had been suffering significant financial losses for some time.

He said the Yuletide season was the perfect time for businesses and PSVs to earn some much-needed revenue.

“I think Government should revert to the 100 per cent and insist that all of the requisite protocols be maintained. I hope that Government thinks about it and allows us to carry the full load so that during the Christmas period many people will not be left on the road.

“The economy cannot continue like this with all of these stringent protocols and these stringent measures. We understand measures have got to be taken to curtail the situation but the economy has the propensity to worsen if some of these protocols are not lifted,” Haynes said.  (RB)