Government’s motive for asking senior citizens to pin their new Trident ID card to ride on public transportation for free is being called into question by president of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Dr Ronnie Yearwood
In fact, he has dismissed the move as illogical, arguing that a driver could verify an individual’s age from the new ID without a pin, either by checking the date of birth on the card or simply looking at the individual.
“Why are you making elderly people pin their ID card? The only reason to pin an ID card is if that ID card is going to have some kind of store value,” Yearwood contended on Thursday.
“That leads me to believe that the Government is trying to move pensions to pensioners on that card. That is the only reason that you pin it. Think about your bank card. Why do you pin your bank card? Because it has money on it. So when you put it in a machine, you have to be the only person able to identify and have access to that money,” he added.
Under the Transport Board’s move to go cashless, it will be implementing a tap-and-go system under which persons 65 years and older will have to swipe their pinned Trident IDs on a card reader to ride free.
During a media conference on Tuesday, Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced a third extension for the use of the old Barbados ID cards, saying that the deadline for getting the new ID had moved from October 31, 2023 to January 31, 2024. As a result, seniors will still be able to use their old ID cards until that new cut-off date.
Mottley had also indicated that the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) could be the next state agency to utilise the Trident ID’s chip and pin technology, as she said this would protect pensioners from “persons abusing the cheques”.
“It leads me to believe that the Government is moving pensions or some form of benefits onto that card. Why are you pretending that you are not going to do it? Just tell us what you are going to do so that people can respond appropriately,” Yearwood said.
“How pinning a card helps you to identify senior citizens? You have been identifying senior citizens for 100 years. You literally can see somebody when they get on the bus if they are a senior citizen or not. How does a pin make it any more special? That means there is some other reason. So tell us the reason.”
He again insisted that the Government’s rollout of the Trident ID card was flawed.
“How many more extensions [will there be?]” questioned Yearwood.
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