Private operators complain of late payment for TAP

Several Alliance Owners of Public Transportation (AOPT) members have requested an urgent meeting with the Transport Board to discuss the payment of monies owed to them under the Transport Augmentation Programme (TAP).

In an interview with Barbados TODAY, AOPT Chairman Roy Raphael disclosed that several members of his organisation had expressed dissatisfaction with the mountain of delayed payments, with many claiming that the last monies they received came nearly two months late.

“The Transport Board continues to default [on] payments as it relates to our TAP programme. We have a number of operators who are in the TAP programme [who] continue to complain about not [being] able to get their [monies], [though] we made an agreement with the Transport Board to be paid on the 15th of every month,” Raphael said.

“It appears to us that the Transport Board has been defaulting on its payment, although we would have met with the relevant authority to ensure that we get our cheques on time.”

Raphael stated that while drivers have generally enjoyed working under the programme, which has been used to service a number of routes to rural districts where access to public transportation is limited, the delay in payments and lack of communication from the Transport Board continue to frustrate workers.

“You would find that we have to wait very long, and when we do wait, the insurance companies and those persons who we have to pay at the end of the month kind of create issues for us in terms of our cash flow.

“So we are calling on the Transport Board [to] please pay their money…. We’ve already instructed the attorneys for the association to write to the Transport Board requesting a meeting. We are also asking the Transport Board to pay us interest after the date of the 15th because we can’t continue to survive under these conditions,” the AOPT head said.

Efforts to reach Chief Executive Officer of the Transport Board Fabian Warton for comment on the matter proved unsuccessful up to Monday night. 

shamarblunt@barbadostoday.bb