MP cautions legislative ‘tweaking’ will not deliver the transformation needed in transportation sector

A government backbencher is warning fellow lawmakers against taking a piecemeal approach to improving the transportation sector in Barbados. She suggests legislators may be missing an opportunity to really transform the sector with a “little” amendment that does not go far enough.
Member of Parliament for St Michael South Central Marsha Caddle sounded the caution on Tuesday, as she welcomed changes to Sections 4 and 23 of the Transport Authority Act which makes provision for the authority to be the entity responsible for issuing, suspending and revoking the licences, permits and badges of drivers and conductors of PSVs, motor omnibuses, minibuses and route taxis.
Caddle said while she welcomed the changes and the plan to introduce regulation to give the Transport Authority more teeth to address bad behaviour among PSV operators, she wanted to see a holistic approach to improving overall public transportation in Barbados, even as the island transitions to a reliance on alternative energy vehicles.
“The sector that we create should be such that any of us would leave our car, bicycle or motorcycle home and get on a bus because it is that sure, the quality is that high and we believe in it,” she said.
“So when we talk about the transport sector in this country that is what we need to be talking about – a sector that counts on route schedules, counts on timetables, counts on well-maintained vehicles, counts on a sufficiency of public service vehicles and that means we are delivering a high quality of service for all Barbadians,” said Caddle.
She warned against putting regulations in place that were aimed at any “one set of people”.
“Whether it is a ZR, B-van or Transport Board bus or any other conveyance, how are we bringing them together into a singular system that gets people where they need to go? If we begin to legislate just for one person over here, one sector over there and another group of people over here, we are going to start to build in certain inequalities in the system that really are the government’s job to avoid,” she warned.
Pointing out that lawmakers were “not in the business of just tweaking”, Caddle said “I certainly didn’t come to representation to tweak and make something seven per cent better than it was last year. We have the opportunity to really transform.
“There are times when we have to, and everybody is not going to get what they want, [but] we have to make important and clear decisions for the good of the public. We are not just here on this occasion to stop a man from dragging, although we want that, or to make sure that vehicles are in good order on the road. We are here potentially in this sector to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, ease traffic congestion, cause people to have greater income streams, and to cause people’s small businesses to be more productive.
“It doesn’t seem that is what we are doing with this little amendment, but that is what we potentially can do – to cause people to increase their productivity at work and overall to increase people’s wellbeing,” she explained.
She said she was looking forward to the introduction of the planned cashless system, the proposed mass transit authority, which is to oversee the transportation sector and training opportunities for PSV operators, among other proposals.
“The transparency that is being sought through this legislation is urgently needed and I think perhaps it needs to go a bit further. I would like to see us again as part of a unified transit system. I would like to see us benefit from some transparency in terms of how routes are awarded,” said Caddle.
She suggested that Government also look at providing guidance on a pricing model for the PSV sector, as some operators were under tremendous pressure to make a certain quota for the owners each day.
“The financial model that you use also affects the approach to the public service and it is something we need to consider. It may not be the subject of regulation, but it may be the subject of consultation and advice to those who operate in the sector,” she suggested.
(MM)