#BTColumn – Local transportation: a suggestion

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author(s) do not represent the official position of Barbados TODAY. 

by Rollins Howard

I believe that most people would agree that although the local public transportation system is a vital necessity it leaves much to be desired. As my friend the late “Smokey” would have been wont to say, I may be wrong, as I usually am, but it is my opinion that the problems in the local transportation sector are caused by a combination of greed, avarice and lack of political will.

Despite all the amendments to the regulations which govern the sector and the penalties which attend them the situation goes from bad to worse and the blame goes from pillar to post. The sector lacks two essential ingredients which could make it a success enterprise – regulation and dependable scheduling.

With the exception of the state-owned Transport Board (and there is still much skepticism about that) the other particpants of the sector operate at their own whims and fancies and when it is in their interests to do so. Prior to 1955 a scheduled public transportation service was provided by a number of private concessionaires.

In that year, however, the Transport Board was formed and took over the operation of most of the private concessionaires of which, if I am correct, only two survived – The Rocklyn and The Elite – and they had also taken over the operation of some of the other concessionaires.

With the effluxion of time and rising operation costs these two concessionaires also departed from the scene and with them we saw the concomitant death of a private scheduled transportation service.

The advent of the owner-driven minibus was at hand, initially as a ‘pirate’ service, but eventually it became a formal and welcome part of the public transport sector, but without any sort of scheduling.

The introduction of Route Taxis (the dreaded ZR’s) saw the eradication of any semblance of order which may have previously existed in the private sector.

To describe our present transportation system as chaotic is to do a dis-service to the word chaotic. This is where greed and avarice flourish. Again, I may be wrong, but I believe that the initial permission for owner-driven units was well intended, but now this type of operation is like Granny’s teeth, few and far between.

Whilst the number of vehicles has increased, the number of owners has dwindled and we now have individual owners operating fleets of vehicles.

We have gone back to a concessionaire system (without concessionaires) with lax regulation and absolutely no scheduling.

My suggestion for improvement of the transportation system may seem draconian but I would recommend that the Government revoke (recall or whatever word fits the bill) all the permits which have been issued for the mini-buses and route taxis.

I understand that this would now be depriving some citizens of their property and could lead to litigation, but if the Law allows Government to acquire free-holdings from citizens because it is for ‘the public good’ I do not see why it should not allow the acquisition of these permits for a similar reason.

I am not sure what is the precise legal definition of a ‘public good’ but if an efficient public transportation system does not qualify as a ‘public good’ I do not know what could.

Again, I may be operating on a wrong premise, but I believe that the Government can revoke the permits which it has issued for breaches of some of the conditions or for other valid reasons and ‘a public good’ does seem to me to be a pretty valid reason.

To make sense of all of the above the Government would first have to devise a transportation policy which encompasses the entire island, including the ten thousand houses which are to be constructed in the next three years. The policy would determine routes and schedules based on the changing demographics and population density as well as Government’s projected housing plans.

The routes together with the planned schedules would then be made available for lease, either by individuals or corporate entities, including those who had previously been participants in the sector.

Many have been the cries that our roads are too congested with traffic, especially in the rush to get to and from work, and for the need for a park and ride system. Such a system cannot work if there is not a reliable public transportation system.

confirmed efficient, scheduled service might encourage motorists to leave their cars at home if they know that there is a public service on which they can rely.

An efficient scheduled bus service would take the uncertainty out of using public transportation; it would also eliminate the need for the drivers to hustle, go off-route and take unnecessary and foolish risks with the lives of their passengers.

It would also convince commuters that they can make plans with the assurance that they would not be stranded or put off the bus before they reach their destinations.

It would bring calm and order, certainty and efficiency to a system currently fraught with uncertainty and danger. It could also be an elusive pipe dream.

I am sure we will never know if we continue to allow greed, avarice and a lack of political will to be salient features of our local public transportation system.

This column was offered as a Letter to the Editor.