PSVs lament deplorable terminal conditions

The public service vehicle (PSV) sector is expressing grave concern over delays in upgrading the working conditions of operators who ply their trade out of the Cheapside and River Bus Terminals in The City.

Chairman of the Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT), Roy Raphael, is complaining that PSV workers, particularly those who function from Cheapside, are continually forced to use external bathroom facilities, because there are none at the terminal.

“Nothing has been done about the working conditions. …There were promises made by the Ministry of Transport to have two terminals merged, that is, the Cheapside and the River Bus Terminal. We are still to get an update. But we still have the concerns where persons are using [places] outside of terminals as their bathroom. We are very concerned about that,” Raphael told Barbados TODAY.

“We also called for a rest area,” he said, “at both institutions…a recreation area so they [workers] can have access to eat their lunch and rest room facility, but that has not materialised. But we are hoping that something could be done about it sooner rather than later.”

The PSV industry leader said he hopes the organisation could meet shortly with the ministry where they could discuss this and other outstanding issues.

“We are still calling on the government for a terminal at Warrens. We are saying that the time has come for government to seriously consider putting a terminal at Warrens. Warrens is becoming an area that is very much used by public service vehicles travelling to the north of Barbados. So, we are asking government to seriously consider putting a terminal at Warrens for us,” Raphael added.

In December 2019, minibus and route taxi operators protested conditions at the Cheapside terminal, declaring they cannot compromise the safety and dignity of operators and commuters for the sake of trying to save a few dollars.

The AOPT had said they were upset that persistent calls for improvement of the terminal’s facility had fallen on deaf ears.

At the time, the executive of AOPT conducted a walkthrough of the facility, lamenting the lack of protection from the elements, non-existent demarcations for queuing and the fact that persons had to resort to answering the call of nature behind parked vehicles.

The alliance’s Public Relations Officer Mark Haynes had also described the situation as a “disaster waiting to happen,” contending that the physical and social conditions were untenable and that the facility was “clearly not fit for purpose.”

In January last year, the government announced plans to significantly improve the facilities at Cheapside for the PSVs. The upgrade, which includes a renaming to Seaview Terminal, aims to provide commuters with sheltered waiting areas, bathroom facilities, and improved loading bays.

The terminal will also include an area for vendors and is expected to address long-standing concerns about the conditions and safety at the current site.

The planned upgrades at Cheapside include sheltered waiting areas, providing commuters with protection from the elements; bathroom facilities offering essential amenities for passengers; improved loading bays to enhance the efficiency and safety of PSV boarding and alighting; and a dedicated vendor area, recognising the role of vendors at the terminal.

The project was identified as a priority by the Government, with construction proposed to start in the 2024-2025 financial year.

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb