est. 2007

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PSVs Overcharging

Submitted by Anthony Davis I have a problem with some minibus, ZR drivers and conductors who charge tourists $2.50 as the fare. The extra money which you get from robbing the tourists will come back to haunt you because when they find out that you have stolen from them they will: Stop taking minibuses/ZRs Get…

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Submitted by Anthony Davis
Michael Lashley, Minister of Transport
Michael Lashley, Minister of Transport

I have a problem with some minibus, ZR drivers and conductors who charge tourists $2.50 as the fare.

The extra money which you get from robbing the tourists will come back to haunt you because when they find out that you have stolen from them they will:

  1. Stop taking minibuses/ZRs
  2. Get the Transport Board buses when they want to get around to see the country
  3. When they return home they will tell their people how thieving you are, and that will give Barbados a bad reputation.

The Ministry of Tourism is not spending millions of taxpayers money on advertising Barbados for you to drag it into the mud.

The minibus/ZR organizations should hold meetings and tell you how much harm you can do do to the island just by charging tourists 50 cents extra.

This nonsense with a few of you doing whatever you like has to stop.

This island is in enough trouble, without you exacerbating the situation!

68 responses to “PSVs Overcharging”

  1. Piece Uh De Rock Yeah Right INRI Avatar
    Piece Uh De Rock Yeah Right INRI

    If there is one thing that I do not understand about Bajans in general AND the PSV community in particular, in the rampant inability for us to see alternative mechanisms to deal with the multiple issues they all face, mini bus sub culture, lawless drivers, unprofitable? routes, dragging by drivers, tiefing by drivers/conductors and the list goes on and on.

    Any one or all three of the associations could approach the IDB with a project which sought to use ICT to improve mass transportation and police their drivers, provide instantaneous metrics on route usage, traveller statistics , money collected and the list goes on.

    The Assinine Cretin and Legion would not know this but the law does not permit for an increase in bus fares it DOES provide for the decrease in bus fares

    And why would that community do that you might add?

    Because if inclusive in the ICT enhancement the idiots were to implement a transfer for PSV riders to move from Route A to route B for $1.50 per leg*** the ridership on PSV s would increase and the other subculture elements would shift into the shadows.

    The real problem that we face in Barbados is what I call “Time Travel and the Blacksmith”

    Imagine a quirk of fate (a general election or the outdated 2party system that is politics in Barbados) were to bring the Best Blacksmith from Magna Carta times to our century.

    After our obvious fascination with him and him with us, his popularity gets him elected.

    But the fact is, he only knows how to shoe horses, and the only horses we have around are Uglicia and the Deceitful Lying Party

    So we have created and subscribe to that ubiquitous phenomenon in our cuntry, in the snivel service and our private sector which is incapable of spontaneous anything other than copying the Pokemon craze but are incapable of self actuation and in fact, HATE ANYTHING THAT SHOWS US UP AS ANYTHING OTHER THAN HORSESHOE MAKERS

    Our collective donkeys is grass

  2. David Avatar
    David

    We have to STOP giving politicians a free ride. Until we do, top in mud.

    >

  3. ac Avatar
    ac

    This is a potent article which makes relevant points and gives clarity as to why i made my comments not as some would suggest that i am condoning illegalities but to refresh an awareness to the problems which the drivers /owners have to face daily in maintenance and sustaining their livelihoods and business

    https://barbadosfreepress.wordpress.com/2007/07/17/public-service-vehicles-in-barbados-we-love-them-but/

  4. David Avatar
    David

    Intersting comment in the media yesterday from the PM about the effect of ‘tech’ on the society. What he neglected to mention was the role the government continues to play in the PSV sector. For over 3 decades we have seen the sub culture help to infect our Youth and wider society. We have to protect our Youth or the society rots.

    >

  5. Colonel Buggy Avatar
    Colonel Buggy

    David July 27, 2016 at 6:45 AM
    Did this Government not introduced free bus fare for school children,to get them away from the ZR’s and Minibuses? Do the same children not now allow the Transport Board buses to go past them, while jumping on a private PSV and paying fare to boot? What attempts has the same authorities ,who were so instrumental in diverting the school children away from this sub culture, are making to address this “spinning- top- in -mud situation.?” Bugger all, from the looks of it.

  6. ac Avatar
    ac

    now govt cannot be the parents or guardians of these children if the parents that lived in the same household cannot direct or teach these children the right and proper how can one expect govt to become their caretakers
    the govt put a transport policy in place for the parents to take advantage that children can ride free so there is where the blame should go ask the parents
    what would you want the govt to do ban the zrs or pass some kind of laws that would ban children from riding on the zrs
    how about raising the bus fares for the ZR drivers most likely the parents would have little choice but to let the children ride the transport buses

  7. Colonel Buggy Avatar
    Colonel Buggy

    ac July 27, 2016 at 9:39 PM #
    now govt cannot be the parents or guardians of these children if the parents that lived in the same household cannot direct or teach these children the right and proper how can one expect govt to become their caretakers
    ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
    Would I hear a strong supporter of any British , US or Canadian political party making a statement like this, especially when its to do with the proper upbringing of their children?
    The same government however,has no qualms about becoming caretaker of some of these very children , at Summerville and Dodds,junior.

  8. Artax Avatar
    Artax

    July 17, 2016 will be 9 years since that article was posted to BFP on July 17, 2007. If we are honest with ourselves, surely we have to admit that there has NOT BEEN ANY SIGNIFICANT POLICY CHANGES for the PSV operators or the conditions under which they operate, under both BLP and DLP administrations.

    Recall in his 2008 Budget presentation, Thompson announced that ALL SCHOOL CHILDREN in uniform or under the age of 18 and carrying identification would NOT be REQUIRED to PAY bus fare. To this end, the government allocated an extra $8M to the education ministry to subsidize the new free travel policy. Hence, under this new policy, “the education ministry NOW pays the Transport Board a subsidy of $2.00 for each school carried.”

    Additionally, recall Thompson also threatened to ban school children from commuting on private PSVs, if operators did not adhere to specific laws, as is substantiated by the following excerpt:

    “I want to MAKE it CLEAR how this GOVERNMENT feels: If there IS NO IMPROVEMENT in the COMPLIANCE by PSV’s with the LAW and TRAFFIC REGULATIONS during the intervening period, at the point of introducing the new service, WE WILL BAN SCHOOL CHILDREN FROM TRAVELLING ON PSV’S BY LAW.” [Page 36, Financial Statement and Budgetary Proposals 2008 presented by Hon. David Thompson Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, on Monday 7th July, 2008]

    Such a policy of banning school children from travel on private PSVs, if implemented, would also add “to the problems which the drivers /owners have to face daily in maintenance and sustaining their livelihoods and business.”

    There is NO DENYING that private PSV operators have SUFFERED under BOTH BLP and DLP administrations.

  9. Artax Avatar
    Artax

    More often than not, politicians make policy decisions that prove to be unsustainable in the long term. According to my research, prior to 1976, Barbados had a fare policy that was based on “stages.” In other words, bus fares were apportioned according to distance travelled.

    However, prior to the 1976 general elections, then PM Barrow replaced the stage fare policy with a basic bus fare of 25¢ “island wide.” Here beggineth the Transport Board its tale.

    Sooner or later the authorities have to make a decision either to allow market forces to determine bus fares or continue to borrow and increase taxes to maintain fares at unsustainable levels and subsidize fares for school children, senior citizens and the ranks of the police force.

  10. Piece Uh De Rock Yeah Right - INRI Avatar
    Piece Uh De Rock Yeah Right – INRI

    @ AC

    You are both “right and wrong” on this point

    What you are trying to say is tied integrally to parental responsibility and discipline insofar as if i tell my chilrun are is reading well “do not get on a PSV” THAT IS THE LAW & MY CHILRUN, WILL NOT GT ON A PSV!!.

    End of that story, this is what parents real parent do.

    But, having said that the flip side of that story is that the Transport Board, having spent several millions of dollars in a Wayfarer system that was supposed to have given real time statistics on the whereabouts of a bus, a function that a $50 ole phone plugged into the bus’s battery can do, a multimillion GPS system that was a sweetheart deal by an inept minister with he firends in the UK, a system that has never worked, what else do you want my children to do?

    Stand up in the sun waiting on an non existent bus?

    You need to stop being so blinded by your allegiance to Fumbles Fools and wake up and see the reality of the poor provisioning of technology for making Transportation in Barbados possible

    THis is why Fumbles inept speech about technology was sooooo out of wack with the reality of your government’s waste of millions of dollars.

    Having said that AC let me also add that you are not alone in such sweetheart deals.

    Mugabe Mottley also made such a deal with Illuminat in the millions of dollars to provision the Royal Barbados Police Force with similar GPS technology ALL OF WHICH HAD TO BE REMOVED FROM POLICE VEHICLES but Illuminat made millions from technology THAT DID NOT WORK.

    REMEMBRANCE IS A BITCH WHEN LIKE MADAME DEFARGE one can stand up and say “JE T’ACCUSE” with such conviction and with truth behind one’s claims AND NOT A FELLER CAN SAY NO, YUH LIE!!

  11. Piece Uh De Rock Yeah Right - INRI Avatar
    Piece Uh De Rock Yeah Right – INRI

    @ Artaxerxes

    Your post of Artax July 28, 2016 at 12:18 AM # ….More often than not, politicians make policy… is strange.

    Since it is not that time yet it is doubly strange….

    Even though one is behind a VPN and capturing the time stamp of the VPN, generally a post does not take the time of the submitter’s zone. but the time of the WordPress host.

    Why is that?

    Unless hmmmmmmmmm…. archive access and now this? hmmmmmmmmm…

  12. Artax Avatar
    Artax

    Piece Uh De Rock Yeah Right – INRI July 28, 2016 at 9:03 AM #

    @ Artaxerxes

    Your post of Artax July 28, 2016 at 12:18 AM # ….More often than not, politicians make policy… is strange.

    Since it is not that time yet it is doubly strange….

    Even though one is behind a VPN and capturing the time stamp of the VPN, generally a post does not take the time of the submitter’s zone. but the time of the WordPress host.

    Why is that?

    Unless hmmmmmmmmm…. archive access and now this? hmmmmmmmmm…

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    @ PUDRYR – INRI

    I’m a bit puzzled by your above comments, which is strange, because you write with “impeccable” clarity.

    Would you care to explain?

  13. ac. Avatar
    ac.

    Are u suggesting that since govt transportation is slow and in effective that the children have no other alternative than to ride the ZR and therefore the responsibilty of the child way of transportation should be the responsibility of the govt.
    I find that argument to be facetious because not all the children are attending the same school which might be a cause of tardiness for many children. However in as much as there maybe delays such drlays would be sporadic and remote . However what we have here is a continuous effect where children have rather ride the Zr than the public free transportation for several reasons other than having to deal with delays by public transportation
    The truth of the matter lies squarely at the parents feet who rather than supervisor their children activity relies on every thing mostly tricks of avoidance told to them by the children
    Again i reiterate that if a higher cost was charge by the Zr most parents and child would head tail for public free transportation and figure out alternatives when bus delays become problematic.

  14. ac Avatar
    ac

    The above comment was for PDYRp

  15. Piece Uh De Rock Yeah Right - INRI Avatar
    Piece Uh De Rock Yeah Right – INRI

    Ok Artaxerxes

    I believe strongly in VPNs especially VPNs with companies that are not “regional”

    So I am the first to congratulate your practice.

    Let us say that you are travelling and you are in the UK then your date/time stamp will be 5 hours ahead or 4 if the UK is in a daylight saving time mode.

    But your post is prescribed by the local machine, the host BU.

    But you post is an anomaly to that Artaxerxes, so I am left to wonder hmmmmm.

    Quite simply put, it confuses me, I cannot explain it and with me anything that I cannot explain bothers the melts out of someone with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder because, like the robot in Lost in Space “it does not compute”

    @ AC

    Your syllogism is not logical.

    A.Goverment provides free transport for “schoolchildren” B. Government provides a scheduled bus service to serve said children whose schedule is inefficient C. Children, even if instructed by parents to take Government buses, in the absence of said bus, MUST get to school and resort to alternative PSVs

    For your syllogism to “hold water” it would have to be that premise B provided that Government provided a timely and dependable bus service so that the condition stated in C i.e. children being instructed by parents to take government buses would be in contravention of parental instruction

    Again with regard to your comment about making the price of public transportation higher I would say thing to you as it relates to the category of the “working poor” in Barbados

    There are thousands of bajans who bus to work in two zones $4 to get to work and $4 to get back home 5 to 6 days a week. that is $40 to $48 every single week!!

    You and several of you do not know that a significant % of the “working poor” population of Barbados still get less than $300 a week BEFORE TAXES etc.

    $50 from $300 leaves $250 and with some households who are renting, paying utilities etc you are creating a category of “respectable sex workers” which others will call whores.

    It is possible and desirable NOT to increase the busfares and cause greater hardship but to “decrease the TB bus-fares, through the use of 15 minute transfers, and increase your ridership BUT SUCH AGAIN DEMANDS WHAT MY SYLLOGISM POSITS, a proper working/operating Transport Board which, if i recall directly, the transport Board, with 100 buses? parked and inoperative, DOES NOT HAVE.

    No parent can and should insist that its child take a TB bus which is always late, may not come or when it comes, breaks down

  16. ac Avatar
    ac

    PDYR the bone of contention in my mind lies within a frame work that is durable to transportation and applicable to children behaviours both dealing with reliabilty safety and security
    The latter which at present does not give necessary cause for worry. However the other two upon which parent and child is depending on
    As far as you are concerned u belive that it is the govt role to provide reliability and safety to those who can least afford by way of transportation.
    However i beg to differ on a reasonableness that govt role to provide necessary transportation is depenable on affordability and is not a guranteed right to all citizens. However to adress the social enviroment if negativity that that being the case i assumed that no parent would want to place their child in any destructive social enviroment but would fine the way and means to remove their child with an understanding that the child responsibility is theirs
    Your poppcock mutterings of logic cannot cannot apply in reality that necessitates to meet and supply demands across the board not for a few but many

  17. Colonel Buggy Avatar
    Colonel Buggy

    ac. July 28, 2016 at 12:56 PM #

    Again i reiterate that if a higher cost was charge by the Zr most parents and child would head tail for public free transportation and figure out alternatives when bus delays become problematic
    …………………………………………………………………………………………..
    You figure so ,Sir. Many of these children who travel on the ZR’s and Minibuses, can be seen with the latest model cell phones. They probably will be able to secure the extra money to pay for the increase PSV and Minibus fare, via the same avenue as Top Ups and New Phones.

  18. ac Avatar
    ac

    not at all disagreeing with your premises however the argument is sandwich in between a preference or more or less a preferred choice to the extent that the attention of negative behavior attracts children of a wanting choice to ride the Zr,added to the fact that the free public transportation is problematic
    the questions then arises in part how can govt intervene with actions that can play an active role in diverting children/s attention from the negative culture prevalent in the Zr culture

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