THE move to use coaches and taxis in the public transportation system
to provide service due to COVID-19 restrictions is still not sitting
well with owners of Public Service Vehicles (PSVs).
Chairman of the Association of Public Transport Owners (APTO), Kenneth
Best, said with PSVs now having to operate at 60 per cent capacity due
to Government-imposed restrictions, many were struggling.
He therefore suggested instead that PSVs be allowed to return to full
capacity for sitting only, with all passengers being sanitized by
conductors upon entry and required to wear masks throughout the
entirety of the trip.
Speaking on the People’s Business program earlier this week, he said
“it is not fair and it is not right” for BTs and ZMs to now compete
with PSVs on their routes.
“No PSV can just move from being a PSV to being a BT or a ZM and I
believe that we have enough PSVs to service the island in conjunction
with the Transport Board and the Transport Augmentation Program
(TAP),” he added.
Acting Director of the Transport Authority, Maria Boyce, however
defended the 60 per cent capacity rule during this COVID-19 period.
“This is in place until the end of the state of emergency and it is
not envisaged that it will go on forever, but we must also remember
that the TAP programme has allowed an increase in the number of
available vehicles to support the Transport Board,” she said.
Similar sentiments were made by the Transport Board’s Chief Executive
Officer, Fabian Wharton, who outlined the positive impact the
additional vehicles were having in ensuring Barbadians get to their
destination during these times.
“The Government is systematically reopening businesses and some are
still working with short staff while others are ramping up business as
they go along, so as an organisation, we have to be able to move those
people. So moving BTs and ZMs allows us to send a feeder vehicle
before the regular routes to ensure that we do not leave anyone in the
terminal,” he said.