@ Caswell
The long n short of it …is that poor Kelly and Ainsley going have it rough explaining to those workersvoters up North how come they only ax the Speighstown Terminal workers….come elections ?

A bus ticket in Toronto cost $6bds.
The service is good.

Does little Barbados provide a good service for the $1.50 ticket?

It still amazes me how much little tiny Barbados does with so little.

And you are correct david. The DLP fails to communicate when in power.The BLP keeps shouting.

In Toronto the subsidy in 2011 was cad$429 million. You get what you pay for.

Public Transportation is expensive and difficult to manage.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/11/24/ttc-releases-list-of-streetcar-bus-routes-affected-by-cutbacks/

When I am in Barbados if I don’t have a car I travel by Minibus. The Transport Board service sucks especially for people who use it to go to work.

Owen Arthur should make improving the Transport Board a priority if he wins the next election.

stupse, ya’ll ppl for real tho? For a third world country Barbados has an excellent transport system. I’m not saying that every thing is perfect, but I have, and continue to use the system everyday. Its all about planning ahead. Many ppl are too last minute.

David,
It is abundantly clear now that the ruling party and government has no communications strategy nor messaging plan. It has and will continue to cost them, especially when as “!” Often points out there are small successes. They have and continue to let events, the opposition and the public frame them rather than the other way around. a massive achilles heel in an election. Sad thing is the better speakers (CS, DI, RJ) are the ones who have been sidelined. It will be a miracle if they can get their act together this year…..they may get other successes (integrity legislation etc.) But the general feel is that its too late to turn the tide and the DLP actors are too weak to rouse an audience out of slumber. Time will tell.

Once again a piece meal approach is taken to a very important public service function in this country.

The function of providing mass transit public transportation must be taken more seriously by the citizens of this country.

Such a function, and by extension, business, must remain provided by both private and government enterprises.

However there must be an entire rationalization and restructuring of this mass transit public transportation sector.

Both DLP and BLP Governments have patently failed to usher in such important and significant changes, but instead have presided over a mixture of ill-discipline, unruliness, efficiency, confusion and black enterprise, et al.

A few things that a future PDC Government will do in relationship to this sector are:

1) The shutting down of the Transport Board in threeyears of the PDC Government coming to office, and its replacement by a modern reliable efficiency customer driven government controlled enterprise;

2) The establishment of a national cooperative to run the entire minibus and zr business. Such an enterprise shall lease all those then existing mass public transport service vehicles from their owners for uniform stipulated periods of time, for compensation on agreed bases. This cooperative shall be legislated for by the legislature, shall be a partnership owned by those leasing those vehicles to the cooperative, shall be run by a board of non-owner-partners, and shall be responsible ( the cooperative) for the recruitment, discipline, training, termination of driver partners, and conductor partners where possible.

3) The introduction (reintroduction) of a stage based bus fare system across the country;

4) The establishment of a modern efficient railway system to run on much of the existing ABC Highway, Spring Garden Highway and Ronal Mapp Highway;

5) The establishment of a central mass transit port in the country.

For their persistent failures to help further advance and develop this very important sector, these DLP and BLP factions must be kicked to hell out of the parliament of this country in 6 years time, and be replaced by people and others who have the fundamental interest of the people of Barbados at heart..

PDC

As far as aI am concerned, the bus service in Barbados is fantastic when you consider the current economic situation. Delays at Fairchild are excruciating, yes, especially for those who have to get home at the end of the working day to look after their families and the breakdowns are not only infuriating but worrying, especially when they happen at night but all in all it is an amazing service, envied by other countries. Drivers, especially the older more experienced ones, are brilliant drivers, courteous and thoughtful. The bus garages at Bridgetown and Speightstown are clean and well-run, the buses are mostly comfortable. Yes, some seats are uncomfortable and have lost their padding but the service is for the most, reliable. The problem is that there are not enough buses and more services are needed for the growing population so people resort to the smaller buses where they might have a horrifying ride or one where they have to listen to revolting lyrics but even so, it is great that people can get around pretty well, considering. The cost of traveling is not extortionate; visitors are amazed that they can travel the island safely and in comfort, using the buses at times when most locals are at work, thereby helping to pay for what might otherwise be empty routes. Is there a way that tourists who use the bus might be discouraged from traveling at peak times by introducing a bus pass for locals and an additional small amount like an extra dollar for tourists who choose to travel in peak times? I haven’t thought through how expensive it would be to introduce a bus pass to all Bajan nationals but it’s an idea.

@Victor. Is there a way that tourists who use the bus might be discouraged from traveling at peak times by introducing a bus pass for locals and an additional small amount like an extra dollar for tourists who choose to travel in peak times? I haven’t thought through how expensive it would be to introduce a bus pass to all Bajan nationals but it’s an idea.
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Perhaps instead of penalising/discouraging the tourists ,whether local or visitors, from travelling during peak times, we should offer them a reduced return fare ticket ,tenable during off -peak hours only, say 10 am -3pm.
But how do you identify a ‘Tourist’ from a ‘worker’ , without being accused of Profiling?

Enuff,

You wanted us there and then to list almost everything that is needed to be put in place.

Just hope not.

PDC